Drew Gordon, a former NBA player and the older brother of Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, has died following a car accident in Portland, Oregon, agent Calvin Andrews confirmed to Marc J. Spears of ESPN. He was 33 years old.
Drew, who played his college ball at UCLA and New Mexico from 2008-12, went undrafted in ’12. The 6’9″ forward began his professional career in Serbia, Italy, and Turkey before getting a shot with the Sixers in 2014. He appeared in nine games for Philadelphia, recording 17 points and 18 rebounds in 71 total minutes.
While those nine games represented Gordon’s entire NBA career, he played professionally for over a decade in total, spending time in the G League, France, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Japan up until 2023 following his stint in Philadelphia. He was named an All-Star in France’s LNB Pro A in 2016 and Russia’s VTB United League in 2018. He also won the Italian Cup with Dinamo Sassari in 2014.
“The Denver Nuggets organization is devastated to learn about the tragic passing of Drew Gordon,” the Nuggets said in a statement on Thursday night (Twitter link). “Drew was far too young to leave this world, but his legacy will forever live on through his three beautiful children and all of his loved ones. Our hearts are with Aaron and the Gordon family during this extremely difficult time.”
We at Hoops Rumors send out our condolences to Gordon’s family and friends.
Thought that said Drew Gooden for a second. Still a terrible thing. RIP Gordon.
I honestly saw the same thing at first
Glad I’m not the only one that read it as Gooden. Dyuslekzia is strong today.
My condolences to the family. Such a sudden tragic thing is hard to overcome without love and support. They lost a father, brother and son. Way too young. Rest in peace.
RIP
What is going on with the siblings of Denver players?