Aaron Gordon switches jersey numbers to honor late brother Drew Gordon

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will change his jersey number from no. 50 to 32 for the upcoming season. The move is to honor his late brother, Drew Gordon, who died in a car accident in Portland, Oregon in May. Drew was 33 years old at the time of the incident.

After taking some time to process the news, Aaron Gordon chose a commendable way to pay tribute to his brother.

Like his younger brother, Drew was also a professional basketball player. He was a top prospect out of California and attended UCLA before transfering to New Mexico, where he wore the number 32.

Gordon worked his way up to the NBA and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014 where he played nine games. He also had stints in Europe with several teams, including Partizan Belgrade, Champagne Châlons-Reims, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Lokomotiv Kuban over an 11-year professional career.

On July 12, 2023, Drew shared a message on his X account confirming that he was retiring and that he was grateful for all the family, fans and friends who supported him along the way.

Aaron Gordon inks tattoo to remember his late brother Drew Gordon

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon sits after drawing a foul from the Minnesota Timberwolves during a game at the Target Center. Photo Credit: Imagn

Shortly after his brother's passing, Aaron Gordon found a unique way to remember him.

The 28-year-old shared a post of his Instagram account in June with a tattoo paying tribute to Drew. The impressive ink, a gorilla with the initials "D" and "G" spotted on the left cheek, takes up the majority of Aaron's left chest. The post was captioned with:

"Big bruh lives thru me"

He followed up his caption with a black heart emoji.

Gordon is currently preparing for his 11th year in the NBA. The California native was a member of the Denver Nuggets side that won the franchise's first-ever championship in 2023, defeating the Miami Heat in five games.