Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon Breaks Silence On Dog Bite Incident

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who suffered lacerations to his face and hand resulting from a dog bite on Christmas Day, has rejoined the team and could play against the Charlotte Hornets tonight.

Gordon was bitten by his Rottweiler.

“I love dogs. I grew up with dogs my whole life,” Gordon said. “But because we’re on the road so much, my dad’s taking care of him, so I can’t really train him how I need him to be. … But I feel good. Everything is fine.”

Gordon required 21 stitches. He said he had a little too much eggnog on Christmas and started playing with his dog.

“I guess it’s a little bit embarrassing, but not too embarrassing to where I can’t talk about it,” Gordon said. “I don’t drink a lot during the season. I probably had a little bit too much eggnog. I was kind of roughhousing with my dog, and I think my dog got a little excited and just basically chomped down. Gave me a bite. And I was basically wrestling him off of me, and then he bit my hand. For lack of better words, I was (messing) around with my dog, and when you (mess) around, you find out.”

Gordon is averaging 13.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists on the season for the Nuggets. The 28-year-old is shooting 52.5% overall, 25.0% from 3 and 60.6% from the foul line.

Gordon, who helped the Nuggets win the title last season, believes he will be fine moving forward.

“I really, really enjoy this team,” Gordon said. “They love me very much. I love them too. That’s probably one of the hardest things about this whole thing. It’s such a fluke, silly injury. I had to miss a couple games, a couple of days, and be away from my team, and that sucks. … Being in the hospital and getting stitches is never fun. But it’s just like, I felt bad because I was taking away the doctors’ time when they could’ve been dealing with something more serious. Just feel a little silly, but it’s alright.”

Gordon is making $21.3 million this season. The Nuggets acquired Gordon from the Orlando Magic in March 2021.