2018-19 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Aaron Gordon

The Good and the Bad

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Generated 5/16/2019.

Aaron Gordon’s raw numbers look worse year over year.

In last year’s breakthrough season, he averaged 17.6 points per game and had nine games of 25 points or more. These massive scoring binges, complete with a display of his hot-and-cold 3-point shooting. That was the biggest area he improved. He was a better 3-point shooter.

But his scoring average dropped to 16.0 points per game. He had six games of 25 points or more and none more than 30 points. There were not those clear scoring outbursts this year.

Without watching Gordon much, it might be easy to say he took a step back. He did not become the clear star of the team — that mantle passed to the team’s actual All-Star in Nikola Vucevic. In that sense, perhaps this season was a disappointment.

But it was still a huge step in the right direction for Gordon.

Where he was hunting for his shot a bit too much in his breakout season, this year he seemed much more patient and willing to play within himself. His shot selection was better and his percentages and playmaking shot up.

Gordon shot 44.9 percent from the floor and a career-best 34.9 percent from beyond the arc. His 50.7 percent effective field goal percentage was a hair below his career high.

He added passing to his game, averaging a career-high 3.7 assists per game (more than 1.0 assist per game more than his previous career high). There were a ton of other elements to his game that came together and showed more promise than they had before.

As the season went on, Gordon showed more composure and poise on the ball. He was not falling into the trap of waiting to attack off the dribble. He fit into the offense a lot better.

And he added that defensive element again, returning to his roots when he was a younger player before his offensive game took off. Gordon defended the best player on the other team routinely and held his own throughout the season. Even in the playoffs as Kawhi Leonard scored against his tough defense.

Gordon still had his problems. He sometimes blended too much into the offense and did not assert himself. And then sometimes he fell into his bad habits and tried to do too much on the ball, overdribbling and forcing up a bad shot.

Gordon was always seeking that proper balance.

That was the next step in his development. But seeking that balance never took away from the team. He was a major contributor to this group. Steve Clifford probably trusted no one on the roster more than Gordon when all was said and done.