Eric Gordon

BIOGRAPHY

Eric Gordon was born on December 25, 1988, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a shooting guard in the NBA.

In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a recruiting competition between the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of media coverage.

Gordon played one season of college basketball at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. He finished his freshman season leading the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 19th in the nation at 21.5 points per game. Gordon entered the 2008 NBA draft and was selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.

n his first ever game as a Hornet, playing against the Phoenix Suns, Gordon recorded 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. He also hit the game winning shot with 4.2 seconds remaining, and New Orleans defeated the Suns in the season opener 85–84. It was revealed that Gordon had a pre-existing knee injury that he aggravated during the opening game of the season against the Phoenix Suns after bumping knees with Grant Hill. Initially Gordon was diagnosed with having a bone bruise, but after further examinations by doctors, it was determined that Gordon had cartilage damage in his right knee. On February 14, 2012, Gordon underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee and was out of action for 6 weeks. Gordon returned on April 4, 2012, to face the Denver Nuggets and scored 15 points giving the New Orleans Hornets a 94–92 victory.

Gordon finished the season with 9 games played, averaging 20.6 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game. He entered the summer of 2012 as a restricted free agent.

On November 29, 2013, Gordon recorded 26 points and 7 assists in a 121–105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 15, 2014, he recorded 35 points, on 11-for-17 shooting from the field, and 6 assists, in a 100–103 loss to the Houston Rockets. On March 4, 2014, Gordon scored 28 points and was 9-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-5 on threes, and made each of his six attempts from the free throw line. His all-around offense sparked the Pelicans to a 132–125 road win and ended an eight-game losing skid.

On July 9, 2016, Gordon signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Houston Rockets. He made his debut for the Rockets in their season opener on October 26, scoring 19 points in a 120–114 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. On November 27, he scored 26 points and hit six three-pointers in a 130–114 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 7, he made a career-high eight three-pointers and scored 26 points off the bench in a 134–95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On December 16, he had a 29-point game in a 122–100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Rockets made an NBA-record 24 three-pointers in the game, led by Gordon's 7-for-12 effort. On January 2, 2017, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 101–91 win over the Washington Wizards. On February 18, Gordon edged out Kyrie Irving to win the Three-Point Contest during the NBA All-Star Weekend. On March 4, Gordon scored 18 points and made six of Houston's 18 three-pointers in a 123–108 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Gordon finished the game with 180 three-pointers made during the season; his 180 three-pointers in 49 games off the bench in 2016–17 set an NBA record—the previous record was 179 set by Mirza Teletović in 78 games as a reserve in 2015–16. Gordon finished the 2016–17 season averaging 16.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 75 games (60 games as their primary reserve). He was subsequently named the recipient of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first player in franchise history to receive the award.

On July 6, 2023, Gordon signed with the Phoenix Suns.