Gordon didn’t make many waves as a rookie, but showed real progress in 2015-16, resembling a player who could be a long-term starter for the Magic. As his impressive showing in the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest revealed, the 21-year-old’s athleticism is off the charts, and he did well to harness some of his impressive physical gifts and turn it into bonafide production last season. He had trouble finding his footing in coach Scott Skiles’ rotation in the early going, but once the All-Star break hit, Gordon’s numbers took off. In 27 second-half games, Gordon averaged 12.0 points (on 48.3% shooting), 7.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.9 minutes per contest. He also turned in a number of highlight-reel blocks and already looks bound to develop into a standout defender as he ages. It’s generally expected that Gordon will take another leap and emerge as a double-digit scorer during the coming season, but the Magic roster as currently constructed might make that more difficult than it seemed prior to the summer. In an attempt to upgrade their frontcourt defense, the Magic traded for Serge Ibaka in June and reeled in Bismack Biyombo in free agency, giving the team more rim protection to compensate for the more offensive-minded center Nikola Vucevic. The addition of Ibaka in particular means that less time will be available for Gordon at power forward, the position he proved to be best suited for after replacing Tobias Harris in the starting five during the second half. New Magic coach Frank Vogel has indicated that Gordon is now in line to start at small forward, which will give Orlando impressive length on the defensive end, but could hurt their overall offensive effort. For all his strengths, Gordon is just a 28.9 percent three-point shooter across 190 career attempts. He’ll need to make tremendous progress in that area this season if he hopes to hack it as a dependable small forward on the offensive end.

Gordon's rookie season was halted by foot surgery in mid-November, costing him 31 straight games. As the second-youngest player in the league last season, he recorded 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, and 0.4 steals in 17 minutes per game through 47 games. Entering the league as a 42 percent free-throw shooter in college and 48 percent in summer league, Gordon's offseason work with shooting coach Dave Love translated into a 72-percent mark from the charity stripe as a rookie. His 45-percent accuracy from the field was depressed by a 5-of-24 performance from mid-range and 13-of-48 rendition from the three-point line. After another offseason working with coach Love, Gordon flashed a much improved jump shot at summer league and averaged 21.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game during the week-long tournament. Although new coach Scott Skiles has a track record of deviating from young players, Tobias Harris a notable example, Gordon's defensive tenacity falls in line with Skiles' principles, and it will help conceal his lack of experience as he aims to fend off Channing Frye, last year's starting power forward, for a large portion of rotation minutes.

Aaron Gordon enters the league as the fourth selection in June's NBA draft. In his one and only college season, the former Arizona Wildcat averaged 12.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 block in 31 minutes per game over 38 games. He shot 50 percent from the field on 10.0 attempts and 42 percent from the line on 4.7 attempts. Gordon held opponents to 34-percent shooting as the primary defender in college and posted an NCAA-best 3.3 defensive win shares. He's a tremendous athlete and superb wing defender capable of guarding four positions, as well as a competent dribbler and passer, often leading fast breaks after crashing the defensive glass. Even with all those attributes, he's still raw offensively. Shooting remains his worst flaw. He converted just 48 percent of his 23 free throws during summer league, missing all 10 of his three-pointers, and connecting on just 35 percent of his field goal attempts. Gordon claimed that he was a better fit at small forward during summer league, but his minutes will be few and far between with the depth the Magic have at both small forward and power forward this season. He's still a project offensively, but the Magic have the luxury of developing him slowly.