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Orlando Magic First Quarter MVP: Aaron Gordon

By Philip Rossman-Reich

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 3: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks on December 3, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 3: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks on December 3, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon‘s emergence as a potential star and someone to build around has made the first quarter of the season successful. And provided hope again.

The NBA is a marathon, not a sprint. So the cliche goes. What happens in the first quarter of the season is not the whole season. A lot can change.

Still, the sprint at the start of the season sets storylines. Everyone remembers that first impression. And teams can put themselves well behind.

The Orlando Magic’s start to the season was a bit uneven. In the first quarter of the year, the Magic finished at 8-13. The season’s first quarter ended with a nine-game losing streak. The Magic fell from one of the best teams in the league to one that was plainly in the middle and fading away.

There was some sense of panic from the fanbase, but the team stayed relatively calm. After all, all information was good information for the Magic. They needed to learn everything they could about their franchise to plan more for their future.

More than that, the Magic needed to create hope for their franchise. The team needed to give the franchise a direction.

There was a lot wrong with the Magic in the first quarter of the season. But one thing they got absolutely right. One thing has changed the franchise’s direction. And it looks like it is something permanent.

It would be easy to give the Orlando Magic’s first quarter MVP to one of the longtime stalwarts. Evan Fournier was consistent throughout the first quarter of the season. Nikola Vucevic had his moments before fading a bit late — and drawing increasing frustration over his defense.

Truly though, one player emerged as the most important player in the franchise in the first quarter of the season. And the Magic will spend the rest of the season trying to see exactly what he can do.

Eventually, Aaron Gordon was going to take a step up. The Magic had played around with his position and sat through his constant injuries every summer. The team finally gave him the stability — the same coach for the first time in his four-year career — and the confidence to grow. And Gordon took it and ran with it.

In the first quarter of the season, Gordon averaged 17.4 points per game and grabbed 8.0 rebounds per game. He shot 50.4 percent from the floor, 43.0 percent from beyond the arc and 77.0 percent from the foul line. Pretty much every number from Gordon is at career-high levels. And it does not seem like it is going to slow down. Gordon has taken his game to another level.

Gordon had never shot better than 30 percent from beyond the arc for a season. His 43.0 percent 3-point shooting percentage was coming off of pull ups, step backs and spot ups. He is shooting confidently and on-balance. Teams are beginning to respect his 3-point shooting more and more.

His offensive expansion has been the kind of leap Magic fans have waited for a long time. And he does not seem to be going away. He continues to put in giant scoring numbers.

Gordon scored a season-high 41 points against the Brooklyn Nets in his second game of the season. He has scored no fewer than 10 points in any game this season. And the times he scores more than 15 are greater than anything else. Gordon is not some flash in the pan anymore. There have been games where Gordon just takes over with his array of mid-range shots. He is consistent. Even on bad shooting nights.

All this and Gordon still has that strong transition play. He is one of the very best in the league working off cuts and getting himself in position to score off the ball and scoring in transition. Adding the 3-point shot has only elevated his game even further. Hints of all this were all there the last few years — especially at the end of last season.

Gordon certainly doubled down on what made him so promising in the Draft process and toward the end of last season when Orlando gave him much more freedom.

It has changed the direction of this season. Orlando does not get off to the hot start without Gordon — not even talking about the two game-winning 3-pointers he has hit this season against the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies.

Gordon has become the next great hope for the Magic. The player who is likely to get an All-Star push and the player who most fits the Magic’s future. As a restricted free agent this summer, it seems the Magic are all but certain to match any offer for him. That is if he can carry this over.

That seems certain. The 22-year-old forward seemingly only has room to grow. And the Magic seem ready to give him more responsibility.

Gordon is currently the Magic’s leading scorer. But he takes the third-most shots on the team. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier still take more.

After big games, coach Frank Vogel is usually sure to mention that what made Gordon’s game special was how he worked within the offense. He scored without the Magic running too many plays for him.

Indeed, Gordon gets himself into trouble when he tries to force too much offensively — he 0.67 points per possession on 1.6 isolation possessions per game.

The next phase of the Magic is to turn even more responsibility for Gordon. The rest of this season the team should still be trying to win, but it should also slowly grow Gordon’s responsibilities on offense. They need to see exactly how far his game can go.

That has already begun. Gordon is now the last starter to leave the floor in the first quarter. And he averages the most minutes per game on the team. Orlando is going to spin off some of these older pieces and Gordon is going to get the keys to the team eventually.

Maybe he is not completely ready. But the Magic are asking these questions now.

And they are excited about them. In that sense, the first quarter of the season was a success solely for that reason. The Magic have someone to build around and grow no matter what happens this season.

They have hope.

Next: OMD Facebook Live: First Quarter Review

Aaron Gordon is providing that hope for the rest of the season. That makes him the team’s MVP so far.