Aaron Gordon showed off his offseason work at the CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle this weekend. It is not much, but it is a sign of his work so far.
Whenever Aaron Gordon starts to rise, the whole crowd seems to rise with him. There is something special about watching him go through his motions as a dunker. He is likely to put on a show any time he steps into the gym.
Give him a dunk contest platform, and that is sure to get the Internet buzzing.
That is how Aaron Gordon has made a name for himself in the NBA. He was a dunker first and foremost. A lot of the national storylines with him this summer have to do with whether Gordon will enter the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest in Chicago, setting up a rematch with Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine.
So, here is some Aaron Gordon dunking to whet the appetite against New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith:
https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1165801368285634560
That was all part of The CrawsOver, Jamal Crawford‘s pro-am in Seattle, that took place this weekend. Gordon was one of the star players to participate in the exhibition games. Everything you see is for entertainment purposes.
But it is Gordon publicly on a basketball court displaying at least a hint of the things he has worked on during the offseason. And if there is one thing everyone should know about Gordon, it is that if he is given a healthy summer, he will take a leap in his game.
Judging by how smooth Gordon moves on the court here, it feels like another step forward is coming for the soon-to-be 24-year-old forward.
Gordon scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Team adidas in the final. Smith scored 50 to lead PNW Rain to the victory. The final result is probably not so much what matters. Defense was somewhat optional — as evidenced by all the blow-bys.
But Gordon still put on a display of his growing skills on the ball.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1166406835362045952
Dennis Smith Jr. dropped 50 POINTS as he, Aaron Gordon and Kevin Porter Jr. shut down Seattle last night! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/yeZAlrRRR9
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) August 26, 2019
The jumper looked smooth and his handles were pretty tight. He was performing step backs and shooting in rhythm. It all looks very good.
Gordon averaged 16.0 points per game. While that was a decrease from his breakout 2018 season, he was more efficient and effective on the ball, adding elements of playmaking and passing to his game. He averaged a career-high 3.7 assists per game — up 1.4 per game from 2018 — and shot a career-best 34.9 percent from beyond the arc.
More importantly for the Magic, he regained a lot of his defensive edge. He became the Magic’s primary perimeter defender. And there was likely no player on the team coach Steve Clifford trusted more by the end of the season. Aaron Gordon got the primary responsibility on Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs and averaged the most minutes per game on the team.
It was a big year for Gordon. And he expects to have another big season this year.
Gordon will obviously have to continue improving his 3-point shot. That work already seems evident and he has improved his shooting in each year of his career.
Gordon also said he wanted to spend his offseason working on improving his post-game too. That would go a long way to unlocking more of his versatility on offense, allowing him to punish smaller defenders on the block and improving his footwork for other areas of the game.
It is hard to see what the final product of all this work will be from a pro-am game like this. But everyone knows Gordon will put in his work.