Aaron Gordon is everything the NBA is not.
He plays hurt. He plays out of position. He plays his role. He does it for his teammates.
But for the last eight months, he has needed them as much as they need him. Gordon’s 33-year-old brother Drew, also a professional basketball player, died in a car crash in May. Aaron has leaned on his brothers in the locker room.
“They are there for me every day. Every single day,” Gordon told The Denver Post. “And you know the only way I can repay them is just by going out and doing the best I can, trying to help them get more rings.”
Gordon has such a chill demeanor, he blends smoothly into conversations and situations. Even with folks he barely knows, he is polite, courteous, easy-going. Tuesday’s Zoom interview was set up to discuss a product he is endorsing — more on that later— but I wanted to know: How is Aaron doing?
How has he handled the unthinkable loss?
“Through the power of perspective, I would say. Just keeping everything in perspective,” Gordon said. “If I were to elaborate on that, my nephews are healthy. You know, my family is healthy. My family is well taken care of. I’m doing something that I absolutely love to do, and have the opportunity to do it at the highest level. So just staying positive, staying consistent and staying focused on making the main thing the main thing, not losing the plot.”
What makes Gordon so interesting, if not remarkable, is that he operates selflessly on the court and maintains fierce individualism off it. As a striking 29-year-old, he receives plenty of business opportunities regarding his physique. Kind of hard not to when you give off young Lenny Kravitz vibes.
“Lenny is a stud, man,” Gordon said. “I like that.”
So when SAXX called, he picked up. Had they phoned me, I would have said they were, well, nuts.
But Gordon as an underwear model makes sense. I mean, have you seen him? He has as many visible abs (eight) as the Nuggets have wins (eight) on their current streak.
“Recently, there were a couple of brands that had reached out to me to do something along the lines of this, but SAXX just made the most sense, and I was most aligned with the brand,” Gordon said. “I think the performance, the style and the comfort, it was perfect for me.”
Gordon, as he is wont to do, performed his due diligence. Not only had he previously worn the product, but he also liked the idea of joining the Oakland Raiders’ Maxx Crosby and Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty as brand ambassadors. The next thing he knew, he was filming a commercial in his home gym and working with a company that shared his vision and was eager to contribute to the Gordon Family Foundation.
“I’m a big believer in the mark of a good company and a good person is the impact that they have,” Gordon said. “Their donation helps us to continue to support underprivileged and lower socio-economic families. It has been a wonderful addition to this partnership.”
“Good” is a word that comes up a lot when discussing Gordon. Good dude. Good with people. Good with what coach Michael Malone wants.
Availability and reliability define the 6-foot-8 forward. This season, though, normalcy has been a stranger. He has missed 22 games because of a calf injury and required maintenance.
Like his team, Gordon is regaining his traction. The Nuggets are demanding to be taken seriously. At 11-10, they looked like a play-in team. With 25 victories in their past 34 games, they appear capable of[comment=” making” ] a deep playoff run.
“It was a lot of ups and downs earlier, but I think everybody is starting to develop respect and understanding for each other,” said Gordon of the Nuggets, who are 22-10 when he plays and 12-4 over his last 16 games. “We have to continue to come together. Play for the next man. Play hard. Everybody has to take care of themselves, but I think we have an opportunity to do something special.”
The Nuggets own the No. 3 seed. There is no reason they can’t secure the second spot, which would guarantee home-court advantage until at least the Western Conference Finals. Gordon is quick to rip off reasons the Nuggets are in good shape, from Nikola Jokic putting together his best season to Jamal Murray becoming flammable, Christian Braun playing “amazing,” and Michael Porter Jr. looking like he should have been the top overall draft pick (before his back issues).
“So I think for me, and Russ (Westbrook), it’s just about keeping everybody together and being that glue,” Gordon said. “My calf feels great. I am ready to go, ready to make a push.”
Gordon’s teammates have played an important role this season, helping him a “ton.” Their caring and trust are genuine. It is a full-circle moment because they are only doing what he has always done.
“I understand when you do something of great difficulty, and try and do it for yourself, it just makes it so much harder,” Gordon said. “As opposed to taking that same challenge and that same endeavor, and making your reason about somebody else, and doing it for somebody else. It just becomes a lot easier.”
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