Inappropriate stars as blue collars! Gordon wants to be the Nuggets' version of Wiggins and become Jokic's perfect partner after transformation

Source: The Athletic

Originally written by Marcus Thompson II

原文标题：Thompson: Aaron Gordon’s bullying Game 1 a portrait of the winner he resurrected

In Game 1 of the Finals, Aaron Gordon played the role of the Nuggets' "siege vanguard", scoring 12 points in the first quarter and focusing on defense for the next three quarters. After the game, Mike Malone presented Gordon with a necklace symbolizing the Nuggets' best defender.

Gordon and Jokic were both rookies in 2014, the difference being that Gordon was the No. 4 pick and Jokic was just the No. 41 pick. But today, Jokic is the Nuggets' star, with Gordon playing a supporting role. Gordon has gone from star to blue-collar and he is easily reminiscent of Andrew Wiggins.

How did the Nuggets get Gordon?

The trading arrow was on the string and had to be sent.

In March 2021, everyone knew that Gordon's departure from the Magic was a foregone conclusion, the Nuggets made a better offer than the Rockets, Gary Harris, rising star Hampton, and the 2025 first-round pick were trade chips, and Tim Connelly, then the Nuggets' president of basketball operations, had to execute the trade.

Before the trade, Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth was given permission to communicate directly with Gordon's agent, Calvin Andrews, who wanted more assurance. Gordon was in the third year of his four-year, $80 million contract, and it was no secret that he wanted a new contract extension that would at least match the original one — and more likely a salary increase, and the Rockets were willing to give him a new contract of about $80 million. The Nuggets already know Gordon's market price, and they know that if they get Gordon, the deal has to work and work.

So, Booth wanted to make sure that Gordon was the player who could take the Nuggets to the top.

"Trust me," Andrews told Booth, "he's definitely the piece of the puzzle you're missing." ”

Prophecy becomes reality

In the first game of the finals, the prophecy became a reality.

The Nuggets made their final push for a championship, and it was Gordon who set the tone for the game and sent signals to opponents. All attention was focused on the dominant Jokic and his duo with Murray, but the Nuggets sent Gordon, who was 6 feet 8 and weighed 235 pounds, to attack the Heat's defense.

Gordon's significance is not only that he scored 12 points in the first quarter, but also that he hit the Heat's soft underbelly, and his presence is the epitome of the Nuggets' high and power advantage in this round of the series.

In the first 8 minutes of the first quarter, Gordon scored 6 goals in the box, all of them from the basket, all of them bullying Heat guards, whether it was blocking back to change defenses or switching offense to catch mispositions. Gordon faced Butler with a powerful crush to complete the basket, then attacked Vincent to hit the inside dunk, then hit Strus on his back to the box for a layup, then stormed Martin to score, then passed Vincent, and then faced Strus to complete the European step.

Gordon doesn't need to make "you're too short" celebrations at all, he doesn't pursue those funny celebrations and outside attention.

"He gave us killer energy," Nuggets player Payton Watson said, "and the most important thing was to set the tone for the game, and he did it." ”

After the first quarter, Gordon returned to dirty work, and he did a lot of chasing Butler, forcing his opponent to score 13 points on 14 shots. According to statistics, the two played 72 rounds at the same time, Gordon played against 36 rounds, and Butler only shot 4 times.

At the end of the game, Gordon had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and +15 points on the floor. "I'm not here to get accolades, I'm here to win, it's a great opportunity to work with such a group of players who have talent, technology and passion, and I've always loved playing the right way, and the Nuggets are such a team," Gordon said. I don't care if I score 50 or zero, I just make an impact on the game and help the team win. ”

Nuggets version of Wiggins

Over the past few years, Wiggins has written a perfect transformation story with the Warriors, and compare Wiggins and Gordon to find that the two are very similar.

They all have perverted athletic talent, and were regarded as the pride of the sky in the draft that year, and were cultivated as core stars by the team at the beginning of their careers. But due to technical shortcomings, the two did not grow into the cornerstone of the team. After leaving the parent team, they have all completed their transformation and become good partners for the championship puzzle of strong teams and superstars.

Gordon is indeed the missing piece of the puzzle for the Nuggets, as he gave up his pursuit of starlight and chose a more ambitious goal. Once Gordon won a big contract and played the core of the high-ball possession, now Gordon listened to the advice of his brother Drew and completed the transformation.

When Gordon was a young henchman, he saw Drew as a boulder that he had to remove as he grew up. At that time, Drew was the star, he was 5 years older than Gordon, and he had Gordon's current body in high school.

Later, Gordon gradually became famous, he won the AAU national championship, won two state championships in high school, and the college came close to the championship at the University of Arizona for a time, but unfortunately lost to injuries in the elite quarterfinals. Gordon began to show his star temperament, and the slam dunk contest winner and highlights from his high school years made him an Internet celebrity on the video site. Gordon's father, Ed, was a big San Diego basketball star, and he inherited his father's ability to fly and become a sensational star.

However, Andrews didn't like Gordon in the magic era, he said: "I didn't like the role he played in magic because he had so much to do, you asked him to play a particular role, be an expert in something, and he would do it well." It feels like the role in the Nuggets is what he should play. ”

In the Nuggets, Gordon gave up the number of shots and status, and he replaced those highlights with fierce fights. In this year's playoffs, Gordon defended Towns, Durant, LeBron James, and now Butler. Among the Nuggets' main rotation players, the Nuggets conceded only 108.9 points per 100 games when Gordon was on the floor, which is second on the team, only slightly more than Bruce Brown's 108.2 points. In the first round of the playoffs last season, Gordon shot just 3 of 15 from three-point range in the series against the Warriors, but this season he shot 13 of 38 from the field for 34.2 percent.

"We always say that Jokic embodies the Nuggets culture, but I think Gordon is also a major spokesperson for selflessness, knowing that his role will change this season when Murray and Porter Jr. come back healthy, he does a lot of dirty work for us, and a lot of times he doesn't get the credit he deserves." Malone said.

Gordon has reshaped his career like Wiggins and changed his reputation. Gordon's change, brother Drew looked at it: "This transformation is actually not difficult, because it can bring win, he knows that as long as he plays this role, the Nuggets can win, he can accept it, he just wants to play and win." Gordon is getting better and better all the time, and it's crazy to see him make that much progress, he's doing so well. ”

Now, the Nuggets are just three wins away from winning the championship. The day the Nuggets won the championship was the day the prophecy became true.