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Between Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors in an NBA Cup tournament match, the Nuggets’ forward Aaron Gordon was the one to do it, the only one, and he received the applause. He has been in conversation since the last dunk and was going to get the ball soon after, so everyone at the arena gathered their breath and looked at the court. He indeed had been conversing for quite some time, even though he was at the back of the court, quietly using agonizingly slow steps to sneak past the closest defender, then turning with the same slow speed to his left and doing a behind-the-back dribble all while crossing the half court. To support this plane view, he stepped back, making his next movement even more powerful, and broke in for a Pau Gasol style one-hand slam dunk which was at least a three-pointer in difficulty level.
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The crowd erupted with applause, and of course, the video of the dunk got shared everywhere immediately. The guys who saw it live had difficult moments figuring out words to describe the experience.
One of the spectators very accurately captured the atmosphere when he wrote, “That person, who I think will never respect physics, is Aaron Gordon, and with this dunk, he showed that he is one who is born to play and entertain, the audience went nuts, and one could almost feel the beat through the screen.” This observation described very well the mixture of power and smoothness that was the reason for such a strong remembrance of the dunk.
A lot of comments pointed to the old-school style of the move. “Is this an iso-bag?” The user who tagged the move as an iso-bag was amazed and at the same time confused about what year he was witnessing isolation play through Gordon’s game. Another said, “Simply balling, no foul baiting, flopping shi$,”, praising Gordon’s tough, honest scoring approach rather than accepting contact and getting free throws.
The dunk was an immediate trigger for comparisons to the basketball legends of the past. “I can’t not associate MJ, Kobe, Wade… really so much,” one comment affirmed, putting Gordon’s phenomenal performance very close to one of the most idolized scorers in basketball history. Another one just said, “This person is simply special, reallyyyyy,” referring to the exceptional talent of Gordon, who sometimes gets unnoticed because of Jokic.
The comical aspect also managed to sneak into the audience’s reactions. “I am dead ass serious,” was a comment of one netizen who went with the NBA’s own “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” caption as a starting point. Another user made a playful observation saying, “Looks like one of those videos generated by AI,” insinuating that this was almost too good to be real. Video game comparisons persisted, and one person said, “Stop it, just retire and go join the NBA 2K Hall of Fame,” implying that the move was so perfect that only an extremely skilled player with the difficulty level of that of a basketball video game could have performed it.
On the other hand, some people were not solely concentrated on Gordon’s incredible display of athleticism. The game situation caused some to make strategic analyses, for instance, one user compared, “But Jokic has no help,” and added a series of eye-rolling emojis which referred sarcastically to the narratives claiming that the Nuggets’ superstar is not well supported by good players, something that Gordon’s performance clearly contradicted.
The slam also sparked discussions about the championship. “Argue with a wall. No one will win over this team in a 7 game series,” a die-hard fan cried out, while another asserted, “Nuggets are the champions this year,” considering Gordon’s vibrant play as a signal of Denver’s reign.
The visual aspects were equally taken into account; one person even quizzed, “The super bright pink floor because???” commenting on the NBA Cup’s distinctive court designs that have become a hallmark of the tournament.
Gordon’s dunk was so remarkable mainly because of the tournament being in-season, so he performed under pressure, which added a significance beyond just another regular season game. He blended his technical dribbling, leap, and dunking prowess to show why when given room to function, Gordon is one of the most explosive forwards in the league.
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Gordon, now 28 years old, and in the tenth year of his NBA career, is still developing and giving birth to offensive explosiveness such as this one while building up his already great defensive reputation. The partnership with Jokić has especially been fruitful. Gordon’s cutting and finishing skills perfectly fit Jokić’s passing vision. However, this particular play really showcased Gordon’s skill of shot creation.