Former NBA forward Drew Gordon dies at 33

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 2012. The 6-foot-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. “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.”