Aaron Gordon is getting prepared to enter his fourth full season as a member of the Denver Nuggets. He joined the team in March of 2021 after Denver acquired him in a deal with the Orlando Magic. The 28-year-old Gordon has appeared in 241 regular season and 47 postseason games with the Nuggets thus far. For each of those outings, he has worn the #50 on the back of his jersey.
With the 2024-25 season fast approaching, Gordon will be wearing a different number for Denver. Nobody should question his reasoning behind making the number change.
Nuggets Forward To Change Jersey Number To Honor Late Brother
Gordon Will Change His Number From #50 To #32
According to Etienne Catalan’s X page, he is an NBA numerologist. On Monday, he posted a tweet announcing that Gordon will no longer will be wearing #50 in the upcoming season and displayed a picture of his jersey with the new number.
Aaron Gordon (@Double0AG) is switching from No. 50 to No. 32 for the #Nuggets to honor his late brother and former pro player Drew Gordon, who passed away earlier in May. Drew used to wear No. 32.
Number last worn by Jeff Green in 2023. #NBA pic.twitter.com/7h7LzSOWlI
— Etienne Catalan (@EtienneCatalan) August 26, 2024
Gordon will don the #32 in the 2024-25 season. He is not doing so because he is a fan of former legendary players who have worn that number such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Karl Malone. He is making the change to honor his late brother, Drew Gordon.
Drew Gordon Passed Away In May
Drew Gordon is the older brother of Aaron. He was born five years prior to Aaron. It was a little less than three months ago, on May 30, that the elder Gordon passed away in a traffic accident. He was just 33 years old.
Drew transferred from UCLA to New Mexico, the latter of which he played at for two seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12. With the Lobos, he donned #32 as his jersey number. It was also a number he wore often while playing professionally overseas, as well as his time in the G League with the Delaware 87ers.
On November 13, 2014, Drew got his first experience playing in an NBA regular season game. His debut in the league came that day with the Philadelphia 76ers. He would play nine games for them in 2014-15, totaling 17 points and 18 rebounds. Philadelphia does not have the #32 jersey available as it was retired for Billy Cunningham back in 1976. Drew instead wore #30 while with the 76ers.
Integral Piece For Denver’s Championship Team
While Aaron doesn’t get the praise that three-time MVP Nikola Jokic does, or even point guard Jamal Murray, he has played a huge role on a Nuggets team that has been amongst the best during his time there. Every game he has played for Denver, Gordon has been the team’s starting power forward. He and the team experienced the ultimate goal in 2023 when they defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. During that postseason run in 2023, the six-foot-eight Gordon shot over 50% from the field and nearly 40% from beyond the arc. In his 241 regular season games for the Nuggets, he has posted averages of 14.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
While sometimes changing a jersey number seems meaningless, this number change means a whole lot for Gordon. It is a way to further honor his late brother Drew.
