Orlando Magic: 2018-19 player grade for Aaron Gordon
By Luke Duffy
Strengths
By far the biggest strength Aaron Gordon has now shown to have, and which became more and more evident as the season progressed, was how much of a two-way player he was turning into.
For somebody who is best known to casual fans for his appearances in the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend, this was a huge development.
Gordon’s crazy athleticism was well documented coming into the league, and while the comparisons to a young Blake Griffin were lazy, the two did share some similarities.
2018-19 was the year Gordon really began to forge his own path, however, and he did so on the defensive end as much as anywhere.
The Magic ranked 8th in this category during the regular season (107.6), and while coach Clifford and even Nikola Vucevic helped in this regard, Gordon was right there as well.
They ranked considerably better when he was on the court (105.9), as he was usually tasked with guarding an opponent’s best player. This included Kawhi Leonard during the playoffs, where Gordon did as good a job as anybody in trying to slow him down.
Incredibly, no player off an @OrlandoMagic team that was dominant at times defensively this season earned a vote for the NBA’s All-Defense teams. F Aaron Gordon, who had defensive success against LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and others, was the biggest omission. pic.twitter.com/aX2gImRGhu
— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) May 22, 2019
Offensively his 16 points per contest were a welcome sight, but down slightly on the 17.6 of a season before. Still, his 3.7 assists per game were a career high, and so too was the 34.9 percent he shot from deep.
This was a welcome sight, Gordon appearing much more comfortable letting it fly from deep, enhancing his two-way abilities.
All of this came together to highlight Gordon’s biggest positive of the season. One which turned into his main strength. During their lone playoff series against the Toronto Raptors, he was the Magic’s best player.
Guys like Vucevic and Evan Fournier faded badly when needed, but Gordon put up 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists in their Game 4 loss.
The Magic now know that, when they get back to the postseason again, they can count on Gordon to step up. This was hugely important to figure out in 2018-19, as his two-way play and not being fazed by the playoffs can both be built upon.