Angela Gordon and her two young boys were quite disappointed that they had to leave the Intuit Dome early to catch their flight home to Denver on Saturday. With grandfather Ed also in their private car, they all watched the final seconds of Game 4 between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers on a telephone.
Just before they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, they cheered with joy and emotion as the boys’ beloved uncle, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, slammed home a stunning game-winning basket at the buzzer.
“I was in tears. Just incredible,” Angela Gordon told Andscape via text after the Nuggets’ 101-99 victory in Game 4. The Nuggets host the Clippers tonight in Game 5 with the series tied 2-2. “It’s insane that we weren’t in person for that last-second play, but I saw his brother, Drew, all over that…
“We all went crazy. It was pretty cool for the boys to see their uncle do something like that. Their smiles were prices.”
Tragically, Drew Gordon — Angela’s late husband and the older brother of Aaron — died in a car accident in Portland, Oregon, on May 30, 2024.
Calvin Andrews
Drew Gordon began garnering national notice when he was a high school basketball star at San Jose Mitty High School who played in the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic with current NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Jrue Holiday. Gordon played in college for UCLA and New Mexico before going undrafted in 2012. He played nine games for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2014-15 season and also played in the NBA G League, Serbia, Sardinia, Turkey, France, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
Aaron and Drew were not only brothers, but best friends. After watching Drew go undrafted and work to earn a brief NBA career, Aaron learned a lot about the league in the process before being selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic.
“Being the older brother, having to set an example and be a role model, I couldn’t be more pleased with how he has progressed as a player and individually,” Drew Gordon told Yahoo! Sports in 2014 about his younger brother.
In 2023, Drew was playing professionally in Ukraine when the war with Russia was about to begin and he and his family returned to America just in time. Drew officially retired in 2023 and he and his family relocated to the Portland area. The entire Gordon family — from parents to kids to grandkids — were in Denver when the Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship and took a picture in celebration on the Ball Arena floor afterwards.
Drew attended the 2023 Hoop Summit in Portland on April 8, 2023, with his sister, Elise Gordon. He told Andscape that day he was contemplating working in pro basketball in a to-be-determined capacity. Drew was also looking forward to his oldest son, Jayden, moving in with him in June of 2024 after getting clearance from the mother. But on May 30, 2024, Drew died in a two-vehicle injury crash in Clackamas County, Oregon, at the age of 33. He was survived by Angela, their sons Zayne (5) and Brody (2), and his eldest Jayden (12).
“When that first happened, I was there with [Aaron],” Nuggets teammate Michael Porter Jr. told Andscape. “It was me and him and KCP [ex-Nuggets teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] ended up pulling up. We sat there, digested it, talked. And we were there for him. He’s held it down since the day it happened. That was his big brother.”
Elise said, to aid their unfathomable grief, an already close-knit family became even tighter after Drew’s death.
“To have these things that really rock your world and reshape the structure of your family, that only you know what it feels like and what you’re going through, I think we really rallied around each other,” Elise, who now serves as Aaron’s co-agent, told Andscape. “Honestly, we have tightened our circle even more just knowing that we got us. That is what it’s come down to: being there for each other.”
Calvin Andrews
The Gordon family has a rich basketball history. Their father, Ed Gordon, played at San Diego State where he wore No. 32. All of his kids wore No. 32 at Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) High School, Drew wore it at New Mexico and Elise at Harvard University. Aaron switched from No. 50 to No. 32 before this season in honor of Drew.
“It means he is with me,” Aaron said of changing his jersey number. “He has my back just like he has my front.”
Aaron said Drew once told him if anything were to happen to him to take care of his family. Little brother has already done that by leaps and bounds.
Aaron convinced Angela and her two sons to move to the Denver area last fall before the school year began. Aaron is regularly at their home spending time with the boys. Angela and the boys attend most Nuggets home games and were at Games 3 and 4 of the Nuggets-Clippers series in Los Angeles.
Aaron also talks regularly with Jayden, who lives with his mother in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Aaron bought tickets for Jayden to attend the 2025 NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio. Jayden also visits Denver and comes to Nuggets games when time permits. Porter added that Aaron stayed in Denver instead of going back to his native Bay Area during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend to spend time with the children.
“Listen, I will do anything for those boys. That’s it. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for them. So, there has been a shift in the chemistry of my brain,” Aaron told Andscape.
Angela said her sons have an “incredible relationship with their Uncle Aaron” and he has been a godsend through the tragedy.
“In losing their superhero dad, they have leaned heavily into and on Aaron who has welcomed them in with his arms wide open,” Angela told Andscape. “There are truly no words to describe how much he means to me and the kids. He has been our light in the darkness. He has the most kind, giving and selfless heart. He will and does do anything for my kids and for that, there is no thank you that could ever be enough. Drew would be so proud and honored to see Aaron and the boys together. And I know words would not suffice when it comes to the immense levels of gratitude that we have and feel for Aaron and the way he’s shown up for our family…
“Aaron has always been the most selfless person. But in living a life without their dad here physically, I could not think of any better person for my boys to be able to look up to in every aspect of life. He is a man that is pulled in so many different directions yet has prioritized spending time with the kids and ensuring they are not just okay, but thriving. He has adjusted and shifted, which is a large part as to why my kids have a reason to smile so big each day. When he is around, the smiles and laughter are endless. It is a mutual love between them, and their bonds are the sweetest things to witness.”
As supportive as Aaron is for his nephews, their presence has been healing for him as well. In each of the boys he sees his big brother and recalls his promise.
“What has been getting me through is the game of basketball and my love for my brother’s children,” Aaron said.
Said Elise: “He’s hands-on. The most interactive. Those boys love and adore him. He will honestly drop anything for them. He will roughhouse them, tickle them, beat them in basketball. He’s hands-on, as hands-on as he can be.”
Garrett Augustus
Garrett Augustus
Aaron has played 11 NBA seasons, most of them less successful than the 50-win campaign the Nuggets had this season. But of all his NBA seasons, the 29-year-old said this has “absolutely” been the most challenging. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was fired at the end of the regular season. Injury and chemistry issues have hampered the team and Aaron has managed the anguish from the death of his brother.
When asked the key to his mental strength this season, Aaron said: “All my nephews, but [in particular] my youngest nephew, Brody. I want him to grow up and see a strong, resilient male figure in his life…
“It can always be worse. I know that I carry [my brother] with me. I’m holding it down and being a rock for the rest of the family.”
Angela reiterated that Aaron has already gone above and beyond in being a strong, resilient male figure for his nephews.
“To the world, he is Aaron Gordon. But to us, he is the best uncle, friend and person that has showed up for us during the darkest times of our lives,” Angela said. “He is the light. He is love. And he is an incredible person who gives selflessly with all of his heart. One day, my boys will know how fortunate and blessed they are to have him to look up to.
“I know that Drew is and would be grateful beyond measure of how he has shown up and made our kids smile, laugh, love, and feel happiness and safety daily.”
