Aaron Gordon

Gordon was a key piece of the Nuggets' championship run last season. While he's somewhat lost in the shadow of teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, he quietly averaged a career-high 16.3 points per game, along with 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 dimes, and just under a steal, block and three-pointer. He also shot a career-best 56.4 percent from the floor, though a career-low 60.8 percent of his free throws. The free throw shooting is a major buzzkill for Gordon, but the rest of his numbers are pretty fantasy friendly. He was worth an 11th-round pick last season, but that number jumps way up to the fifth round if you throw out the free throws. If you're punting them, Gordon is a sneaky fantasy option again this season, and he could even build on those numbers. And while his free throw shooting and volume aren't enough to ruin an entire fantasy team, they will leave his fantasy managers with an uphill battle in that category for the entire season.

Gordon had a successful first full season in Denver. It was the most efficient year of his career, with the forward averaging 15.0 points on 52/34/74 shooting. He added 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in his 31.7 minutes per game. Gordon's usage has taken a dip from his time in Orlando. Denver utilizes him as a defensive-minded forward who can make athletic cuts for easy dunks from Nikola Jokic's gravity and passing. He's an average three-point shooter, but Jokic's floor-spacing ability at center allows the Nuggets' offense to remain unclogged despite Gordon's subpar longball. Gordon ranked 120th in per-game fantasy production for eight-category leagues last season. Fantasy managers should feel relatively comfortable drafting him around there again this season. However, his usage may decrease with Michael Porter back in the fold following a season-ending back injury early last season. In shallow to standard-sized leagues, Gordon likely isn't worth drafting given his very low upside, but in deeper leagues, he's worth considering as a solid starting forward.

After starting last season in Orlando, averaging 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, Gordon was dealt to the Nuggets at the trade deadline. The high-flying forward's numbers took a dip in Denver. His averages dropped to 10.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in his 25 appearances with the team. While the 25-year-old is still a talented young player, his role quickly changed as he swapped teams, going from a necessary scoring piece in Orlando to being the third or fourth option in Denver. Even after losing star Jamal Murray to his ACL injury, Gordon's role in the offense did not change, as he averaged 10.1 points per game in the contests after Murray went down. Entering the season, there is hope that Gordon can take the next step in his offensive game, but it may be unlikely due to the circumstances of the team. Last season's MVP Nikola Jokic and his league-leading 101.1 touches per game will still be the focal point of the offense, and budding star Michael Porter Jr. will be the No. 2 option until Murray is back healthy. To make matters worse for the Arizona product, the team signed Jeff Green to a two-year deal while also retaining forward Will Barton, and young players like Bol Bol or Zeke Nnaji are also in the mix for playing time as well. While Gordon is still an impactful player for the Nuggets, it is hard to envision a big fantasy season out of the 6-foot-9 big due to his lack of a complete offensive game, highlighted by his shaky three-point shooting, and Denver's impressive depth.

Consistency is key for Gordon, and he came through yet again during the 2019-20 season, averaging 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 62 games while shooting 43.7 percent from the field. That's essentially the same stat line that he posted in each of the previous two seasons. However, he saw a slight dip in points from the 16.0 he averaged in the previous campaign, mostly attributed to hitting just 30.8 percent of shots from beyond the arc -- his lowest rate since the 2016-17 season. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old still started every game, and he should be employed in a similar role this year with no threatening competition waiting in the wings. With a solid floor on a nightly basis -- he reached double-digit points in 78 percent of games -- he provides enough stability to anchor fantasy lineups, and any meaningful uptick in his shooting rates would be a boon.

Gordon put together another strong showing in 2018-19, averaging 16.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.6 threes and 1.4 combined blocks/steals. Gordon produced similar numbers in 2017-18, except for the assists, which were a career high. Gordon also managed a respectable 44.9 field goal percentage while hitting a career-high 34.9 percent of his threes. He played a career-high 33.8 minutes over 78 games as well, and his playing time has increased in each of his five NBA seasons. Gordon will be only 23 years old when he enters his sixth season, and he should be in for heavy minutes once again. The addition of a solid passing game to his already-steady scoring and rebounding makes Gordon particularly valuable. He's head-and-shoulders above the other power forwards on the roster in his overall game, and Gordon should be offensive option 2A behind Nikola Vucevic, with Evan Fournier acting as option 2B. Gordon is a strong option for his ability to contribute numbers across multiple categories, and he's likely to be a top-75 fantasy selection for 2019-20.

Gordon, who will turn 23 early this season, re-upped with the Magic this summer on a four-year, $84 million contract. The former fourth overall pick out of Arizona is coming off his best year as a pro, helped by a career-high 32.9 minutes per game, though he only played 58 games due to injury (including two concussions). Gordon averaged 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 combined steals/blocks. He also drilled 2.0 threes per tilt at 33.6 percent after not cracking 30 percent in any of his previous three seasons. Though the increased attempts beyond the arc hurt his field-goal percentage, he managed keep his overall efficiency stable, posting an identical true shooting percentage (53.0) to 2016-17. Gordon’s consistency issues persist, but so does his upside. Last season, he recorded two forty-point games, two games with at least 15 rebounds, and 10 games with at least four assists. Assuming another year of improvement, Gordon probably won't make it past the sixth round in most Fantasy drafts.

Gordon will be entering his fourth year in the league during the 2017-18 campaign. He’s a true tweener, able to occupy both forward slots – a line that will be even more blurred with the addition of Jonathan Isaac (also a tweener), who the Magic took with the 6th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Gordon has seen his workload significantly rise each season, with his production following suit. Last season was largely a tale of two halves, as Orlando opted to deal starting power forward Serge Ibaka to the Raptors at the trade deadline, freeing up more time for Gordon at power forward. He saw his playing time jump from 27.6 minutes before the trade to 31.2 minutes after the trade. With Ibaka moving on, Gordon also became more of a focal point on offense. Before the All-Star break, he averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds with a true shooting percentage of 50.3. After the break, he averaged 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds with a true shooting percentage 58.1. When considering what kind of numbers he’ll put up during next season, it seems to make sense to look largely at his post-break numbers. While he doesn’t project to be a top-tier option at the power forward slot, his athleticism, dribbling ability, and all around versatility gives him plenty of upside.

Gordon didn’t make many waves as a rookie, but showed real progress in 2015-16, resembling a player who could be a long-term starter for the Magic. As his impressive showing in the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest revealed, the 21-year-old’s athleticism is off the charts, and he did well to harness some of his impressive physical gifts and turn it into bonafide production last season. He had trouble finding his footing in coach Scott Skiles’ rotation in the early going, but once the All-Star break hit, Gordon’s numbers took off. In 27 second-half games, Gordon averaged 12.0 points (on 48.3% shooting), 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.9 minutes per contest. He also turned in a number of highlight-reel blocks and already looks bound to develop into a standout defender as he ages. It’s generally expected that Gordon will take another leap and emerge as a double-digit scorer during the coming season, but the Magic roster as currently constructed might make that more difficult than it seemed prior to the summer. In an attempt to upgrade their frontcourt defense, the Magic traded for Serge Ibaka in June and reeled in Bismack Biyombo in free agency, giving the team more rim protection to compensate for the more offensive-minded center Nikola Vucevic. The addition of Ibaka in particular means that less time will be available for Gordon at power forward, the position he proved to be best suited for after replacing Tobias Harris in the starting five during the second half. New Magic coach Frank Vogel has indicated that Gordon is now in line to start at small forward, which will give Orlando impressive length on the defensive end, but could hurt their overall offensive effort. For all his strengths, Gordon is just a 28.9 percent three-point shooter across 190 career attempts. He’ll need to make tremendous progress in that area this season if he hopes to hack it as a dependable small forward on the offensive end.

Gordon's rookie season was halted by foot surgery in mid-November, costing him 31 straight games. As the second-youngest player in the league last season, he recorded 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 17 minutes per game through 47 games. Entering the league as a 42 percent free-throw shooter in college and 48 percent in summer league, Gordon's offseason work with shooting coach Dave Love translated into a 72-percent mark from the charity stripe as a rookie. His 45-percent accuracy from the field was depressed by a 5-of-24 performance from mid-range and 13-of-48 rendition from the three-point line. After another offseason working with coach Love, Gordon flashed a much improved jump shot at summer league and averaged 21.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game during the week-long tournament. Although new coach Scott Skiles has a track record of deviating from young players, Tobias Harris a notable example, Gordon's defensive tenacity falls in line with Skiles' principles, and it will help conceal his lack of experience as he aims to fend off Channing Frye, last year's starting power forward, for a large portion of rotation minutes.

Aaron Gordon enters the league as the fourth selection in June's NBA draft. In his one and only college season, the former Arizona Wildcat averaged 12.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 block in 31 minutes per game over 38 games. He shot 50 percent from the field on 10.0 attempts and 42 percent from the line on 4.7 attempts. Gordon held opponents to 34-percent shooting as the primary defender in college and posted an NCAA-best 3.3 defensive win shares. He's a tremendous athlete and superb wing defender capable of guarding four positions, as well as a competent dribbler and passer, often leading fast breaks after crashing the defensive glass. Even with all those attributes, he's still raw offensively. Shooting remains his worst flaw. He converted just 48 percent of his 23 free throws during summer league, missing all 10 of his three-pointers, and connecting on just 35 percent of his field goal attempts. Gordon claimed that he was a better fit at small forward during summer league, but his minutes will be few and far between with the depth the Magic have at both small forward and power forward this season. He's still a project offensively, but the Magic have the luxury of developing him slowly.