featured-image

Aaron Gordon Honored By Vince Carter's Praise

Dan Savage
Director of Digital News

By Dan Savage

April 23, 2016

ORLANDO – Aaron Gordon took one of the biggest stages in sports this season and delivered a performance for the ages.

#AirGordon, as he’s now known throughout social media, exploded on the scene with NBA Slam Dunk contest theatrics that earned him an immense amount of notoriety.

From television appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to becoming a global trending topic on Twitter, people around the world were showering AG with praise.

However, as Gordon looks back all on the acclaim that the dunk contest brought his way this year, the most meaningful compliment may have come from someone who knows what it’s like to stand in those shoes.

Vince Carter, the man – or should we say Half-Man, Half-Amazing – who Gordon paid tribute to during his series of thrilling throwdowns, was so impressed with AG’s sensational slam show that he recently pulled the second-year standout aside.

During Orlando’s final meeting with Memphis this season, Carter, arguably the greatest dunker of all-time, went up to Gordon to thank him for the tribute and let him know that he had caught his attention.

“I thought it was awesome,” Carter said. “At halftime I pulled him aside and told him I was very entertained.”

It was a special moment for Gordon, who grew up admiring VC’s work around the rim.

“He said, ‘ you did something special,’ he said ‘he was proud’ and he said ‘you did a good job,’” Gordon explained. “It’s huge coming from Vince. I told him it means the world coming from him.”

Impressing Carter with dunking prowess is no easy task.

After all, when you orchestrate a dunk contest as masterful as Vinsanity’s show in 2000, it’s hard to find just about any performance exciting. In fact, he normally does not even watch it live. However, Gordon’s ability coupled with that of Zach LaVine caught his curiosity.

“It hasn’t been entertaining in recent years, and they put on a great show.” Carter said. “It was definitely something I watched this year.”

There are a lot of factors that go into making a dunk contest great. Creativity and originality both play a part. Gordon delivered on both of those by bringing an array of slams that had never been seen on the All-Star stage before, including jumping over STUFF while tucking the ball underneath both legs as well as completing a 360 jam after grabbing the ball from the Magic’s mascot, who was spinning on a hoverboard.

However, his ability to do those dunks on the first attempt was equally as stunning.

“He was very creative, which I think was entertaining, and I like the fact that he – both of them really – were able to make their dunks on the first try.” Carter explained. “That’s big for me, that’s where I’m entertained, because you try on your second, third, fourth time, you already know what’s going to happen.”

While Gordon ultimately did not win the dunk contest, he is considered by many to be the “people’s champ” due to his creativity and originality.

That title along with Carter’s praise might just be the best trophy any dunk artist could receive.