Denver Nuggets playoff hero Aaron Gordon was very questionable for Sunday's Game 7, an eventual Nuggets loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, after suffering a hamstring injury during the club's Game 6 victory. Questionable turned to doubtful after a Sunday morning report indicated that the injury could sideline Gordon for up to a month.
But, in a scene straight out of an inspiring sports movie, Gordon emerged from the tunnel for warmups and actually suited up to play in the Nuggets' loss. Making an already-impressive feat even more so, Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic informed reporters that he told Gordon not to play, given the severity of his injury.
"I told him to not play... [but] he went out there and fought with us and we can just appreciate it." 🗣️
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 18, 2025
Jokić shares gratitude for Aaron Gordon fighting through injury today. pic.twitter.com/UBWDipNCzs
"Definitely, playing with that injury—I told him to not play," Jokic said. "You can injure yourself even worse. You can see that he was struggling a bit. Hard to move, this and that. But he's a lion. He went out and fought with us and we can just appreciate it."
Gordon, clearly laboring through the injury, attempted just four shots in 25 minutes, but managed to score 8 points and pull down 11 rebounds in the losing effort. After the game, Gordon admitted that he "couldn't sprint" and said that, had the Nuggets won, the injury would have forced him to miss "two, three games" in the conference finals.
It's no wonder that Jokic advised his teammate to sit out the contest.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nikola Jokic Said He Told Aaron Gordon Not to Play Through Injury .
