Here’s a fun fact: Aaron Gordon wears the number 50 because of the many, many times he’s achieved that score in the Slam Dunk Contest. Here’s a less fun fact: he’s never actually won the Slam Dunk Contest despite racking up the most 50-point dunks in its history (eight). Here’s the most fun fact of the night: on Sunday, Gordon unleashed a dunk more fearsome than anything ever scored by the judges.
Let’s set the scene: it’s overtime in a critical Western Conference showdown between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns on Christmas night. A Nuggets win gives Denver sole control of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. A Phoenix victory retains a four-way tie atop the conference in the wins column at 20 apiece. Denver leads 124-123 with less than a minute remaining. Landry Shamet misses a shot that would’ve given Phoenix the lead. Gordon rebounds it. Shamet gets back on defense. Gordon ends his pitiful existence on the mortal plane.
It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Shamet. He scored 31 points in the game, replacing the injured Devin Booker ably. Had Phoenix hung on to win the game, he would’ve been one of the heroes of the night. Instead, he not only gets dunked into oblivion, but gets called for a foul in the process. Gordon missed the free throw, but Denver hung on to win the game, 128-125.
Gordon may never get the Slam Dunk Contest trophy he craves, but this dunk alone more than justifies his uniform number.
Anyone can pull off a cool dunk when they’re alone on the floor. Gordon might be the only player in the NBA today who can do something like this late in a key game with another human being standing between him and the rim. It’s the best dunk in a career full of highlights, and by far the best we’ve seen all season.