Nuggets’ Title Hopes Take A Hit As Aaron Gordon Faces Playoff-Ending Injury

Just hours before the Denver Nuggets face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a decisive Game 7, their championship hopes have taken a massive blow. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, forward Aaron Gordon has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and is expected to miss several weeks, effectively ruling him out for the remainder of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

Gordon sustained the injury late in Game 6 while chasing a loose ball, colliding awkwardly with Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso. He limped off the court clutching his hamstring and didn’t return. Though initially listed as questionable for Game 7, sources now confirm the injury is too severe for Gordon to realistically suit up.

This is a brutal setback for a Denver team that clawed back into the series and was riding the momentum of a Game 6 win. Gordon has been a linchpin for the Nuggets all postseason, delivering crucial plays on both ends of the floor and even hitting two game-winners, including a buzzer-beating dunk against the Clippers and a clutch three in Game 1 against the Thunder. 

Through 13 playoff games, Gordon has averaged 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting a blistering 38.2% from deep and 48.5% from the field.

Beyond the numbers, Gordon’s physicality, defense, and energy have been irreplaceable. As Nikola Jokic once said, Gordon is “the soul of this team.” His presence on both ends provided the perfect complement to Jokic’s finesse and Jamal Murray’s shot creation. 

Now, the Nuggets will enter the most important game of their season without their third-most important player and arguably their best wing defender.

But with the official report confirming the extent of the injury, the Nuggets are forced to adapt quickly. Players like Michael Porter Jr., Peyton Watson, and Zeke Nnaji will be expected to shoulder heavier minutes, while Jokic and Murray will have to elevate their games yet again against a young, relentless Thunder squad.

The Nuggets already face depth concerns with Russell Westbrook battling a hand injury and Murray recovering from a recent illness. Without Gordon’s switchability on defense and timely scoring, defending OKC’s dynamic offense, led by MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, becomes a far more daunting task.

This injury also revives long-standing playoff concerns about Denver’s health. From Jamal Murray’s torn ACL in 2021 to Gordon’s injury now, critical injuries have repeatedly derailed the Nuggets’ postseason ambitions.

If Denver manages to survive Game 7 and reach the Western Conference Finals, they’ll face the Minnesota Timberwolves starting Tuesday with no time for recovery. Without Gordon, the Nuggets are undeniably compromised, and their hopes of repeating as NBA champions hang by the thinnest of threads.

One moment of hustle may have altered the entire course of Denver’s playoff journey. Now, the spotlight falls squarely on Jokic and Murray to find one more miracle and keep the dream alive.