David Adelman Heaps Praise on Aaron Gordon After Nuggets vs. Spurs

Headed into the Denver Nuggets' Saturday matchup vs. the San Antonio Spurs, David Adelman hinted that star forward Aaron Gordon would be on some form of minutes restriction after dealing with recent hamstring and calf injuries that restricted his recent availability.

That restriction, however, wouldn't end up meaning much by the end of the day. Gordon wound up playing a grand total of 41 minutes in the Nuggets' overtime victory, 136-134, logging 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

As to why the restriction was lifted for Gordon, Adelman credited the decision postgame due to the desire to give him "the full throttle" in the fourth quarter and overtime.

"I mean, no rules in overtime," Adelman said of Gordon's minutes restriction. "Yeah, he went past what we wanted. We’ll have to see where he’s at. That was part of the reason we were switching a lot early even though sometimes it didn’t go well with Wemby."

"It’s because you have to give Aaron the full throttle fourth quarter, he has to be able to play with fouls and play aggressively. If he’s going into the fourth quarter with four or five fouls, now he has to be tentative and that’s not going to help us."

Aaron Gordon Was Key Defensively in Success vs. Spurs

Apr 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) reacts in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

What really stood out about Gordon's performance against San Antonio was what he was able to do defensively.

The versatile forward was able to face up against the tall task that is Wembanyama on the other side to make things a bit more challenging for the French phenom, something that Adelman made sure to highlight postgame as a key to Denver's ability to rally for a statement victory.

"Aaron is one of those guys that’s just a unique defensive player because he has good feet and he’s got the size. Once Wemby jumps in the air, it doesn’t matter anymore, so you’re just trying to get into his air space, make it uncomfortable. But obviously he’s such a unique player, he showcased it today as our guy did as well."

"So, Aaron was great, we’re going to need more of that to win big games at the end of the season."

It remains to be seen what Gordon's status is for the games ahead, and whether or not he could rest anytime following his 40-plus minutes against San Antonio. By Adelman's tone, it at least seems like that rest could be on the table.

Denver has one day of rest before they'll be back on the floor facing the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, but could still use that as a chance to let Gordon rest his legs before the final three games of the regular season.

Especially considering the Nuggets have another matchup against the Spurs on tap to close out the regular season later this month, combined with a contest against the OKC Thunder, having Gordon on the floor in those outings will be critical, and will be even more so once the playoffs get underway. So keep an eye on his status moving forward.

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