Just when everybody thought that Aaron Gordon was done competing in the Slam Dunk Contest, he may be running in with a chair like Randy Orton.
During an interview this week with Sports Illustrated’s Rohan Nadkarni, the Denver Nuggets forward Gordon revealed that he is open to participating in the Dunk Contest again. Gordon did add that there is one big caveat though — he will only do it if he is also an All-Star this year.
“If I’m in the All-Star Game, I’ll do the Dunk Contest,” said Gordon.
The former No. 4 overall pick Gordon actually has a strong standalone All-Star case. He is posting career-bests in field goal percentage (58.8 percent) and three-point percentage (37.6 percent) plus near career-bests in points (16.5 per game) and rebounds (6.8 per game). Even more impressive is that Gordon has been the most reliable defender and the top vertical threat on a Denver team that currently has the best record in the West (32-13). You can read more about Gordon’s All-Star case in Nadkarni’s full piece here.
Gordon famously competed in two of the most iconic Dunk Contest battles of the modern era (in 2016 against Zach LaVine and 2020 against Derrick Jones Jr.). But Gordon lost both times in controversial fashion (especially the second one) and said after the 2020 competition that he was done with participating in the event. Nonetheless, Gordon now appears to be coming off that stance a bit, much to the excitement of fans.
Still only 27 years old, Gordon will not be able to make this year’s All-Star Game on the strength of the fan vote since he failed to place in the top ten for frontcourt players in the Western Conference. But hopefully he can make it in as one of the reserves (which are selected by the 30 NBA head coaches with commissioner Adam Silver having the say over injury replacements). After all, Gordon had some of the greatest jams in Dunk Contest history.
