Aaron Gordon withdraws from NBA Slam Dunk Contest

The former Wildcat will no longer compete due to injury

Aaron Gordon is out of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, a disappointment for many NBA fans as well as those who enjoy gravity-defying acrobatics, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reports that Gordon pulled out due to a hip injury.

The 6-foot-7 forward will be replaced by Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell who has taken the league by storm in his rookie season.

Gordon, in his fourth-year with the Orlando Magic, has participated in the dunk contest twice before.

In 2016, he had a series of mind-boggling and jaw dropping slams en route to a second-place performance. In 2017, he bowed out early.

While fans won’t get to witness Gordon’s absurd athletic ability over the All-Star Weekend, take a few months and savor his top dunks of the season below.

The former Arizona Wildcat is having the best season of his young career, now that he’s not playing out of position for the Magic.

In 39 games (38 of which are starts), Gordon is averaging 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and shooting a career high 34.6 percent from behind the arc. Overall, he’s shooting just a tad under 45 percent.

Mitchell joins Larry Nance Jr. (Lakers), Dennis Smith Jr. (Mavericks), and Victor Oladipo (Pacers).

The event will be televised on TNT on Saturday, February 17.

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