NEW YORK — Someday Aaron Gordon will sit back on his gigantic pile of money like a young Scrooge McDuck and he’ll just laugh about the two NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest titles that were swiped right from under him. For the budding impresario, it’ll all just be water under the bridge, which he’ll probably own.
Because for Aaron Gordon, basketball hasn’t just been a game, but a platform.
He wanted to take over Tucson, and he did.
He wanted to lord over Orlando, and he has.
Next stop? China, and its 1.4 billion people.
Now that he has a massive shoe deal and a signature shoe on the way, things will really kick off.
If you think Aaron Gordon has already taken flight, just wait.
Staying in the present
Aaron Gordon says his fan base in China has grown over the past four years. He’s visited the country three times.
This has always been AG’s dream.
He hasn’t sat up late at night for decades just hoping and praying he’d make it to the NBA. That was already a foregone conclusion for him by the time he was, what, 13? For Gordon, professional basketball at the highest level was a fait accompli.
His real goal was to make an impact, to, as teammate and eight-year NBA veteran Terrence Ross said, “Leave his footprint all over the world.”
“I’ve always known I wanted to not just be a star — I’ve wanted to be a global icon,” Gordon said after Orlando’s 105-103 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 6. “I know if I stay true to myself and stick with what I believe, it’s a possibility. Instead of staying in the American corporate constructs, I can expand to other businesses in other parts of the world and continue to develop my brand.”
His bombshell on the eve of All-Star Saturday — the official announcement of a new exclusive shoe deal with the third-biggest Chinese shoe brand, 361 Degrees — confirmed rumors that had bounced around for weeks: Gordon was taking his brand global.
He’s not the first NBA star to sport the shoes, as fellow Pac-12 product Kevin Love of UCLA donned 361s from 2013-15 while with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. The company, founded in 2003, has more than 8,000 retail locations in China.
But Gordon’s deal takes it to another level. He is the 18th NBA player to help design a signature shoe, and his look was on full display during All-Star Weekend, when he wore the “California Sunset” version for the dunk contest.
On his shoes, he inscribed the phrase “Wu Han Jia You,” translating to “Stay Strong, Wuhan,” referring to the coronavirus that has rocked the region and the nation.
Gordon has felt a connection dating back four years, when he first burst onto the international scene after his performance in the 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which saw him lose a controversial decision to Minnesota’s Zach LaVine.
He’s visited the country three times, once with Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming. There, Gordon says, he feels a reciprocated love.
How did that start?
“Just by being me,” he said. “When you stay in the present moment, you focus on yourself and what’s happening now. That mind-set, that presence of mind, is what attracted the Chinese shoe deal. There’s a lot of Eastern philosophy here.”
Aaron Gordon: one part Confucius, one part Kobe.
A high leap — and ceiling
“I’ve wanted to be a global icon,” said Magic forward Aaron Gordon, left, shown driving against Charlotte Hornets center Bismack Biyombo.
On this Thursday night in Madison Square Garden, Gordon is continuing to find his groove.
The season got off to a rocky start for the former Arizona acrobat, as he averaged just nine points in four October games. This was not the start he wanted.
After drastically improving his stats as a fourth-year pro in 2017-18, going from 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds in his third season to 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds one year later, the high-flier fell down to earth last year. His scoring dropped to 16 points per game, even as his minutes increased, as his shots per game fell from 14.9 to 13.4.
This year, the slide has continued, with Gordon averaging 14.2 points to go along with his 7.3 rebounds. A career 44.7% shooter, Gordon is down to a career-worst 42.4% from the field; his 3-point shooting, which improved drastically over the last few years, peaking at 34.9% last season, has dropped back to 30.8% this year.
On some nights, he appears to be only scratching the surface of his potential.
Like on this night: Midway through the fourth quarter, Gordon dumps a pass to teammate Nikola Vucevic, who gives the ball back to Gordon for a contested reverse layup that puts the Magic up, 94-91.
Shortly after, Gordon steals the ball and executes a breakaway reverse layup to go up 96-93. Orlando fades down the stretch, but by no fault of Gordon.
It’ll be a tantalizing run for a tantalizing player, one whose ceiling is as high as his prodigious vertical leap. For his head coach, Steve Clifford, it will be the fruits of extra time spent with Gordon, whose scoring has jumped from 13.4 points in 13 January games to 19.6 points in seven February games.
“What he’s doing right now is starting to score in the post more,” Clifford said. “He did it last night, and this last stretch of games, he’s had a good stretch where he’s scoring efficiently or getting fouled down there.”
If Gordon can get his range back, Clifford knows he’ll have the perfect weapon to complement Vucevic and Markelle Fultz, the former Washington Husky star-turned-No. 1 pick, who has had a bit of a career resurgence down in Orlando.
“We’re just working on it every day,” Clifford said. “You have to work your way through it. (Gordon) shot last year 39% on spot-ups.
“To me, that’s a game-changer for him. Then people have to close on him and then he can use his athleticism to get by. Range shooting means everything in our league, and he knows it.”
Walking a new path with fresh shoes
Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon drives to the basket past Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Boston, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Saturday night was not about Gordon’s range or his shot or his post play.
It was about one thing: His ability to do ridiculous things while holding a basketball in flight. And for the second time, near-perfection was not enough.
Despite five 50-point scores — two in the first round, two in the championship round against Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr., and one more in the first overtime round — and despite clearing 7-foot-5-inch Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall on his final dunk of the night, Gordon fell to Jones in the second overtime round, 48-47.
“I wanted to jump over Shaq; he didn’t want to do it,” Gordon told reporters after the competition. “It was really for the people. Everybody was like, ‘Tacko! Tacko!’ so it was like, ‘Let’s do it, man.’ Tallest dude in the gym. Jumping over someone 7-5 and dunking it is no easy feat. What’d I get, a 47? Come on, man. What are we doing?”
It was enough to make Gordon swear off future dunk contests in frustration.
Plus, he’s already had his platform, and he’s a lot more than dunking. A lot more than basketball, even.
Mohamed Bamba, the No. 6 pick in the 2018 draft, four years after Gordon, said the first conversation they had was about life after basketball.
“He’s a really smart dude, smart, put together. There are 350 million people who live in the States; in China, there are more than 350 million who play basketball,” he said. “Outreach is big here, and it’s wise to embrace it. You realize you have some other options, and that really hits you. You realize you can blaze your own trail.”
Now Gordon’s trail will take him across the planet.
Zheng Yexin, the general manager of 361 Degrees, said in a news release that Gordon brings a unique set of skills.
“Not only is he a great player in the NBA with rare explosive power, strong running and jumping ability and excellent physical coordination but equally important, we love the fit between our brand and what he stands for as a person,” he said.
Orlando has gotten to learn that firsthand over the last half-decade as Gordon has become a fixture in the community. In December 2018, Gordon created CodeOrlando, a STEM program designed for Orlando youth, and after co-starring in the Kyrie Irving-led “Uncle Drew” movie earlier that summer, Gordon rented out a theater for local kids.
“He’s really well-stamped in the Orlando community, and not just on the basketball court,” Bamba said. “He has his footprint on a lot of parts of Orlando. The music scene, the STEM program, the basketball. He’s doing a lot of good in Orlando.”
The next frontier for Gordon?
The world.
“It was time for something new,” he said. “Time for a fresh start, and I’m glad I did it. I have a great fan base over there in China. It just felt right.”