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Orlando Magic Best of the Decade: The All-2010s Team

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson saw their era end in the 2010s. But they are still titans in the Orlando Magic's history. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic
Aaron Gordon’s athleticism has made him a source of promise for the Orlando Magic. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Power Forward — Aaron Gordon (2015-20)

Aaron Gordon may have created the moment of the decade for the Orlando Magic when he stood toe to toe with Zach LaVine in the Slam Dunk Contest in 2016. The two went back and forth seemingly matching each other dunk for dunk. Everyone wanted it to keep going.

Aaron Gordon put his athleticism on complete display that day. The height of his raw talent. The talent that got him drafted fourth overall.

The trick for Gordon throughout his career is how to turn that talent into something a bit more tangible. Getting his skills in place to contribute to the team.

That part has been more of a stop and stop.

He discovered a 3-point shot in the 2018 season, but he fell into the trap of inconsistency young stars do. He started over dribbling and trying to isolate, taking on that challenge on his own. In the 2019 season, he found a better balance and re-asserted his defensive potential. That emergence made him valuable to the team’s first playoff push.

That 2014 Draft is still the draft the Magic centered their whole rebuild around. They wanted in on the Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid draft. They were in line to draft third when they fell to fourth. Gordon was their prize.

He never really carried that weight though. His progression was slow, displaying the supreme athleticism in spurts but lacking the skills to put it all together.

Gordon still is working to live up to his potential. He has shown so many flashes of it. It has started to come together for him. When he plays well the team plays well. And he has started to figure things out slowly.

Gordon is not all he could be. At 24 years old, he still has a lot of room to grow.