Nuggets shock Thunder: Aaron Gordon plays hero again as Denver’s investment continues to pay off
At this point, the Denver Nuggets acquiring Aaron Gordon has to be up there with the greatest non-superstar trades in recent, if not all of, NBA history. The fit has been extraordinary from the start as Gordon, with Nikola Jokić as his quarterback, has unlocked the best imaginable basketball version of himself.
On Monday, the dividends of Denver’s investment continued to compound when Gordon sunk the game-winning 3-pointer with under three seconds to play as the Nuggets stunned the top-seeded Thunder, 121-119. Denver closed on a 19-6 run after trailing by 11 with under five minutes to play,
This is the second game-winner that Gordon has converted in these playoffs. The first, as most of you probably recall, came in Game 4 of Denver’s first-round series vs. the Clippers — when Gordon summoned his inner Lorenzo Charles by dunking home an airball, as if it was a pre-planned alley-oop (which it definitely wasn’t), as time expired.
It goes without saying how monstrous these two games have been for the Nuggets. If Gordon doesn’t finish that dunk against the Clippers, who led the series 2-1 at the time, that game goes to overtime and who knows what happens. Instead, the Nuggets tie the series 2-2 and win it in seven.
On Monday, stealing Game 1 and home-court advantage in the series, in Oklahoma City might have arguably been even bigger. Historically, the winner of Game 1 in a best-of-seven series goes on to win the series over 77% of the time.
It wasn’t just the game-winner, either. Gordon was fantastic all night, finishing with 22 points and 14 rebounds, seven of which were offensive, which is an enormous stat for the Nuggets to at least keep decently close pace with the Thunder in the possession game with all the turnovers OKC generates (18 in Game 1).
“Aaron Gordon is gonna be a hero again,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “He is a Denver Nugget, man. He is the soul of our team. So cool to see him have two [game-winning] moments that no one will ever forget.”
This might be a bit of a stretch, calling Gordon the soul of a team that happens to have the best basketball player int he world on its roster. But the general point is true: Gordon embodies Denver’s we-over-me mantra. He could have spent his career being a overtasked star chasing checks his game couldn’t quite cash, but in Denver, he’s the too-good-to-be-true puzzle piece that fits four different ways.
Some nights Gordon cuts and rebounds. Other he’s hot from 3. He defends. He runs the floor. His spatial and anticipatory chemistry with Jokić borders on divine. If Gordon never comes to Denver, they don’t win the first championship in franchise history in 2023, and they are not up 1-0 on the Thunder in 2025, if they are even in position to play in the second round in the first place. Gordon is such a talented athlete that he would be good anywhere, but in Denver, relative to his role, he is truly great. Perhaps even close to perfect. We saw that again Monday night.