Superstitious Nuggets now excluding Aaron Gordon from team dinners

Denver Nuggets team dinners will proceed without Aaron Gordon for the foreseeable future, with good reason on the team’s part.

The Nuggets have been having players-only team dinners since falling behind 2-0 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals. There is one twist, however: Gordon was absent from a team dinner at a Minneapolis steakhouse last Thursday, organized in a bid to lift team spirits after their dreadful start to the series. The Nuggets have not lost since and superstition has kicked in. As long as the Nuggets keep winning, Gordon cannot come to dinner.

“Yeah — not you though,” veteran DeAndre Jordan told Gordon when asked about the next dinner, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “We’ll see you next round (of the playoffs). Sorry, dawg. We’ll bring you some takeout though.”

To be clear, Gordon is fine with this and laughed off the snub. He has committed to the bit as long as Denver keeps winning.

The Nuggets were blown off their own home court in the first two games by the Timberwolves and many believed they were headed for a shockingly quick exit. They have responded with three straight wins, with Nikola Jokic completely taking over the series for Denver. The defending champions can finish off the Timberwolves with a win in Minnesota in Game 6 on Thursday night.

The Nuggets tried a lot of things to turn the series around. Perhaps the key all along was simply to have dinner without Gordon.