Orlando Magic: Can Aaron Gordon become an All-Star in 2018-19?

What stands in his way

Basically, a lot. The Magic won’t be a playoff team more than likely, they get no national coverage and Gordon is still super young. His offensive game still has a ways to go and the Magic, in recent years, have spread out scoring instead of focusing on one or two guys. I think that trend changes this season with Steve Clifford at the helm. He should know that Gordon and Jonathan Isaac should have the ball in their hands, and hopefully this rings true.

The Magic don’t have a scoring guard on their roster, so Gordon should be getting, at minimum, 15 shots a game. I have faith in D.J. Augustin to be able to get the ball to Gordon in scoring positions, and with AG also being able to create his own shot on the perimeter and in the paint, expect some big scoring nights.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

With added responsibility, however, comes threat of overuse. With overuse, comes potential injury. With potential injury comes no All-Star Game. Gordon missed 24 games last season, including the Dunk Contest over All-Star Weekend. Including his rookie season, this makes two years out of four that he has not played over 60 games.

Gordon is an incredibly explosive athlete, but these injuries have been to parts of his body that could limit him moving forward. A strained hip flexor this season, coupled with multiple foot injuries, could come back to bite him this year with added minutes.

I expect the Magic to win more than 25 games this season, but all signs are pointing to them building for the future. They didn’t make any big splashes in free agency this offseason and drafted players whose immediate impact will be smaller than other lottery picks.

It’s a smart move for Orlando, but this means that Gordon’s impact will be smaller nationally and thus, it’ll be harder for him to be voted in the All-Star Game. I hope that Gordon doesn’t fall into the “good player, bad team” career narrative, but all signs in the present point to that.

I project Gordon to creep towards that 20 points a game mark this season and probably around 8-9 boards as well. Will that be good enough to sneak into the All-Star Game in a weak Eastern Conference? We will see. It might take another season or two, but don’t be surprised if we see a representative from Orlando in Charlotte for All-Star Weekend next season.