Drew Gordon, older brother of Nuggets player Aaron Gordon, dies in car accident

Former 76er Drew Gordon died in a car crash near Portland, Oregon, on Thursday. ESPN, which first reported the news, confirmed his death through his agent Calvin Williams. Gordon was 33 years old.

The San Jose native is the older brother of Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon and played nine games with the Sixers during the 2014–15 season.

After going undrafted by the University of New Mexico in 2012, Gordon played the next three seasons overseas.

On October 7, 2014, he signed a multi-year contract with the Sixers, but was released 18 days later. The Sixers re-signed him on November 10, 2014, but released him again on December 5, 2014. He finished the season with the Delaware Blue Coats, the former name of the Sixers’ NBA G-League affiliate team. With the Sixers, Gordon averaged 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.9 minutes.

He spent the next three seasons overseas before returning to the G-League to play for the Long Island Nets in the 2018-19 season. After that, Gordon went overseas again, finishing his playing career with Japanese team Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka last season.

His brother Aaron, 28, helped lead the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 NBA title.

Drew Gordon began his college career at UCLA before transferring to New Mexico after his sophomore year.