Background and career
Aaron Addison Gordon (born September 16, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in San Jose, California, Gordon attended Archbishop Mitty High School where he led his team to two state championships and was named California Mr. Basketball in his junior and senior years. Gordon then played one year of college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats, during which they won the Pac-12 regular season title and reached the Elite Eight of the 2014 NCAA tournament. Gordon was selected by the Orlando Magic as the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Gordon has twice been a runner-up in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, losing close matchups to Zach LaVine in 2016 and Derrick Jones Jr. in 2020. After being traded to the Nuggets in 2021, Gordon won his first NBA championship in 2023.
Gordon was born in San Jose, California, to former San Diego State basketball player Ed Gordon and Shelly Davis Gordon. Gordon has claimed that his paternal great-great-grandfather was a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m) Osage Indian. His father is black and his mother is white. After going undrafted by the NBA, Gordon's father tried out as a tight end for the National Football League's New England Patriots with no prior football experience. After being cut in the preseason, he played a year of pro basketball in Mexico. Gordon's older brother, Drew, also became a pro basketball player while his older sister, Elise, played collegiately for the Harvard women's basketball team. Gordon attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. As a freshman in 2009–10, Gordon started in 28 of 41 games and averaged 11.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. He also competed on the school's track and field team as a thrower and played summer basketball for the Oakland Soldiers. As a sophomore in 2010–11, Gordon helped his team win the CIF Division II title which was Mitty's first state title in boys' basketball. Mitty finished with a 32–2 record with Gordon playing all 34 games, averaging 16.4 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. In the 2011 title game, Gordon scored 17 points and broke the state championship record by gathering 21 rebounds. As a junior in 2011–12, Gordon led his team to their second CIF Division II state title after defeating La Costa Canyon 78–57 in the finals. Gordon finished the game with 33 points and 20 rebounds. For the season, Gordon averaged 22.9 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 blocks per game and was chosen as the California Mr. Basketball Player of the Year. As a senior in 2012–13, Gordon averaged 21.6 points, 15.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game and lead Archbishop Mitty to a 28–6 record. With this record, Archbishop Mitty reached the CIF Open Division finals where they lost against Mater Dei High School 50–45 with Gordon finishing the game with 22 points and 20 rebounds. Gordon was again chosen as the California Mr. Basketball Player of the year during his senior year.
Gordon committed to the University of Arizona on April 2, 2013, announcing his decision in a news conference before the 2013 McDonald's All-American Game. After a 24-point, 8-rebound performance leading the West to a 110–99 victory, Gordon was named the game's MVP. On January 17, 2020, Archbishop Mitty retired Gordon's number 32.
Gordon made his college debut for the Arizona Wildcats on November 8, 2013, in a 73–62 win against Cal Poly in which he recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks while seeing 33 minutes of play. On February 22, 2014, Gordon scored a season-high, and game-high, 23 points in a win against Colorado scoring 21 points in the second half. On March 2, 2014, Gordon led his team to a Pac-12 regular season title after a 79–66 victory over Stanford where he scored 19 points and achieved a career-high 15 rebounds. On March 8, 2014, in the final game of the regular season, Gordon contributed 21 points in a 64–47 win against Oregon finishing the season with a 28–3 record. on March 13, 2014, during the 2014 Pac-12 tournament, Arizona defeated Utah in the quarterfinals 71–39 with Gordon scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. On March 14, 2014, Gordon led his team to a 63-43 semifinal victory against Colorado during which Gordon scored 9 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Arizona ultimately lost in the finals of the tournament to UCLA 71–75 with Gordon scoring 11 points. In the 2014 NCAA tournament Gordon scored 16 points in a 68–59 victory over Weber State Arizona advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating Gonzaga 84–61 with Gordon adding 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Gordon scored 15 points in his team's 70–64 win against San Diego State before ultimately dropping out of the tournament in a close loss (63–64) to Wisconsin in the Elite Eight. Gordon scored 8 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. On February 13, 2014, Gordon was named one of the 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year. He was named to the All-Pac-12 first team, as well as earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors. Gordon finished his freshman year with a record-breaking 303 rebounds and on April 15, 2014, he declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility.
On June 26, 2014, Gordon was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. On July 2, he signed with the Magic and joined them for the 2014 NBA Summer League. After appearing in the first 11 games of the 2014–15 season, Gordon was ruled out indefinitely on November 16 after he fractured a bone in his left foot in the Magic's loss to the Washington Wizards the night before. He returned to action on January 18, 2015, against the Oklahoma City Thunder after missing 32 games. On April 4, he recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 97–90 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
In July 2015, Gordon re-joined the Magic for the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 21.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks in three games. On November 4, 2015, he scored a then career-high 19 points in a loss to the Houston Rockets. On January 31, 2016, he tied his then career high of 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 119–114 win over the Boston Celtics. He went on to record 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds the following night against the San Antonio Spurs. During the 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend, Gordon was the runner-up to Zach LaVine in the Slam Dunk Contest. Their battle through two tie-breakers in the final round drew comparisons to the showdown between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988. Gordon utilised Stuff the Magic Dragon, his team's 6½-ft tall mascot, in his dunks; his final dunk involved him jumping over Stuff while passing the ball under both legs. On February 25, he had another 19-point outing in a 130–114 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Three days later, he set a then career high with 22 points in a 130–116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On April 13, in the Magic's season finale, Gordon tied his then career high of 22 points in a 117–103 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
