Former Arizona Wildcat Aaron Gordon playing like an All-Star for the Orlando Magic
By David Rosen
Former Arizona Wildcat standout and McDonald’s All American Aaron Gordon is having an All-Star year for the Orlando Magic. Let’s see why.
The year of the Wildcat! In both college and in the NBA, Wildcat players are setting records and have incredible years. Lauri Marrkanen of the Chicago Bulls setting three-point records, T. J. McConnell doing TJ like things in Philly and DeAndre Ayton scoring double-double and taking the college basketball scene by storm just to name a few. And now add Aaron Gordon to that list – he is having one of those “special seasons” so far.
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Known mainly for his dunking abilities, Gordon is showing his versatility this year with the Orlando Magic. In his fourth year with the Magic, his stats in every category have gone up since season one: points, rebounds, assists, blocks and even steals that’s what All-Star players do. 11 games into this season, he is averaging 19 points per game, almost eight rebounds and three assists per game.
The one stat that stands out his Gordon’s three-point percentage – .59.5% (as of November 11th). He is 25-42 from beyond and the arc is currently leading the NBA in that category! Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are just some of the top NBA three-point shooters that are trailing Gordon in this category.
Aaron Gordon is averaging 19.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1 BPG and 1 SPG. He's shooting 55.2% from the field and a ridiculous 57.5% from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts per game. Great defender too. He's a major reason for Orlando's early success; they're currently third in the East. pic.twitter.com/LHgc3LK0Xe
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) November 10, 2017
To put things in perspective, as a Wildcat he made only 16 three-pointers out of 45 attempts, which was 35%. It goes to show that Gordon has put in a lot of work on all aspects of his game and is now finally paying off.
| Season | G | GS | MP | FG | FG% | 3P | 3P% | 2P | 2P% | FT | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 47 | 8 | 17.0 | 2.0 | .447 | 0.3 | .271 | 1.7 | .500 | 0.9 | .721 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 5.2 |
| 2015-16 | 78 | 37 | 23.9 | 3.5 | .473 | 0.5 | .296 | 3.0 | .531 | 1.7 | .668 | 6.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 9.2 |
| 2016-17 | 80 | 72 | 28.7 | 4.9 | .454 | 1.0 | .288 | 4.0 | .528 | 2.0 | .719 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.7 |
| 2017-18 | 11 | 11 | 31.5 | 6.9 | .559 | 2.4 | .553 | 4.5 | .562 | 2.8 | .721 | 7.7 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 19.0 |
| Career | 216 | 128 | 24.6 | 3.9 | .468 | 0.7 | .313 | 3.1 | .528 | 1.7 | .700 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 10.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2017.
Gordon is not a stranger to the NBA All-Star game. During the 2015-16 All-Start Dunk Contest. He ended up losing to Zach Lavine, even though AG had one of the best dunks in slam dunk history!
This year he has a real shot of not only making the All-Star team for the Eastern Conference but possibly be an MVP. Previous former Wildcats who have made it to the All-Star game: Sean Elliot, Gilbert Arenas, and Andre Iguodala. For Gordon to join that elite club of players would be quite the honor. To make the All-Stars, Gordon will need your votes as you know these things have come down to popularity.
Gordon’s performance this year has helped the Magic to sit at the top of the Southeast standings and third overall in the Eastern Conference. Not only is he leading the NBA in three-point percentage, Gordon also leads his team in rebounds and field goal percentage, including this game-winning three-pointer against the Memphis Grizzlies:
From last night: Aaron Gordon hits another game-winning 3, as the Magic keep stacking wins: https://t.co/PrclgIsaWA https://t.co/nDBFaPcdy2
— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) November 2, 2017
Must Read: Former Arizona Wildcat Lauri Markkanen sets a new NBA 3-point record
Zona Zealots would like to congratulate Aaron Gordon on having an amazing year so far! The way he is playing truly represents what it means to Bear Down! Keeping on ballin’ like an All Star AG.