Gordon compromising fame throughout Nuggets’ title hunt:’I care about the wins’

Aaron Gordon understands he might be a star somewhereelse. 

Instead, he has totally accepted a relatively thankless function in Denver, playing behind Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and others on offense, while typically securing the opposing group’s brightest star. 

But Gordon doesn’t see his function on the Nuggets as reasonably paltry — he sees it as a benefit. 

“I puton’t care about the credit,” Gordon informed FOX Sports. “I care about the wins.”

Gordon’s technique has considerably benefited the Nuggets, who have reached the NBA Finals for the veryfirst time in franchise history. In their 104-93 win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 on Thursday, Gordon shined, completing with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while assisting hold Jimmy Butler to simply 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting. 

The Nuggets gotten Gordon at the 2021 trade duedate from the Orlando Magic, who had picked him as the No. 4 general choice in the 2014 draft.  In Orlando, Gordon was the man on a group that missedouton the playoffs 5 times and had 2 first-round exits. In Denver, he frequently works in the shadows, doing things that puton’t program up in box ratings — chasing loose balls, rim-protecting and requiring men to change their shots. 

When asked if he chooses his brand-new task over his old one, Gordon smiled broadly. 

“Winning?” he stated to FOX Sports. “Yes. Most certainly. I’d much rather rating 15 on a winning group than 25 on a losing group.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone hasactually been deeply pleased with Gordon’s determination to sacrifice, specifically this season, after Murray and Michael Porter Jr. returned from prolonged lacks due to injuries. 

“We constantly talk about Nikola embodying Nuggets’ culture, and I believe Aaron Gordon is a prime example of someone who’s really generous,” Malone stated. “He comprehended with Jamal and Michael coming back this year, being healthy, that his function was going to modification. He neverever assoonas battled it. He’s accepted it from Day 1 of the season.”

Gordon has stoodout as a two-way gamer for the Nuggets, averaging 16.3 points on a career-high 56.4% shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 helps throughout the routine season, which moved him into the discussion of making his veryfirst All-Star group in 10 seasons. 

But Gordon was passed over for the honor, with Jokic being the just Nuggets’ gamer picked as an All-Star. 

According to Malone, Gordon doesn’t get popular enough. 

“He does a lot of the filthy work for us,” Malone stated. “And a lot of times he doesn’t get the credit that he isworthyof.”

This postseason, Gordon has put himself into safeguarding the finest gamers in the NBA. 

According to NBA.com, when he safeguarded Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns in the veryfirst round, he held him to 10-for-27 shooting (37%). In the 2nd round, he held Phoenix’s Kevin Durant to 26-for-68 shooting (38.2%). LeBron James had more success versus Gordon in the Western Conference finals, shooting 12-for-20 (60%). 

Now, Gordon may be dealingwith his fiercest obstacle yet in Butler, who has led the Heat to endedupbeing simply the 2nd 8-seed in NBA history to reach the Finals. 

“Jimmy’s a truly, actually hard guard simply because he does so much on the flooring, simply constantly so evasive,” Gordon informed FOX Sports. 

But on Thursday, Gordon got the finest of Butler, holding him to the least points he has scored this postseason. He did that while setting the tone for the Nuggets, scoring 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the veryfirst quarter to assistance Denver lead by as lotsof as 9 points over that duration, and as much as 24 points in the videogame. 

For Jokic, having somebody with Gordon’s skillset on the flooring togetherwith him is a terrific and welcome enhance. 

“Oh, I love to play with him,” stated Jokic, who had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 helps. “I love to play with some, I desire to state dominant huge males, if that makes any sense. The finest thing he did is accepting his function. And he’s actually doing a terrific task of that.

” … He’s our finest protector mostlikely, him and (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope). And simply to play defense the entire videogame on the finest gamer, I believe that’s truly hard to do.”

Gordon — who has a gamer choice for the 2025-26 season — has dedicated himself to being a dogged protector. He researchstudies his challengers, studying searching reports and putting over movie. 

“I mostlikely watch a videogame a day,” Gordon informed FOX Sports. “Maybe a game-and-a-half a day.”

It’s all paying off for Gordon, who is simply 3 wins away from clutching the Larry O’Brien Trophy. 

And for him, Thursday alone was surreal. 

Before the videogame, he took a minute throughout the nationwide anthem to procedure that he was lastly playing on the greatest of NBA phases for his veryfirst time. And after the Nuggets won, he stated he looks forward to being 90 and in a rocking chair, informing his kids how he locked up some of the finest gamers in the videogame. 

Malone topped off the night by handing Gordon the protective gamer of the videogame chain, a pendant he utilizes to benefit efforts on the less-heralded side of the court. 

For Gordon, his function might appear less lofty with the Nuggets. But for him, playing on this group is a dream come real. 

“It’s a [style] where everyone is so unselfish and the ball moves and there’s energy around the ball,” Gordon informed FOX Sports. “So, it’s a enjoyable brandname of basketball.”

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports. She formerly covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.