Aaron Gordon is the Nuggets’ unsung hero of the season, even though everyone will be concentrating on Nikola Jokic’s MVP performance and the return of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.

Jokic discusses Gordon’s breakout campaign

With Murray and Porter both taking some time to properly get back into the flow of NBA play, Gordon was put under more pressure to assist out early in the season. And, while Gordon has delivered, he has not slowed down during the season. So far, Gordon is having easily the finest season of his career (16.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 59.3 FG%), helping Denver emerge as the West’s top seed.

Gordon’s per-game numbers aren’t significantly different from those we’ve seen throughout his career, but his efficiency has transformed him into a whole different player this season. And as Gordon continues to have a great breakout season with the Nuggets, his frontcourt partner-in-crime, Jokic, took a moment to explain why he believes Gordon is having a career year in Denver right now.

“I think this year he’s playing really simpler.” – Nikola Jokic, The Denver Post

Gordon’s minor tweak in playstyle makes the Nuggets extremely dangerous.

Gordon has been a rather frustrating player throughout his career. He had a lot of promise, but he constantly made things more difficult for himself than necessary. That’s a significant reason why the Orlando Magic opted to part ways with Gordon and acquire something in return by trading him to the Nuggets.

Gordon’s playstyle, however, has improved since joining Denver. He’s eliminated many of the needless shots he was taking earlier in his career, which has benefited not only himself but also the Nuggets’ offense as a whole. It obviously helps that he plays with Jokic, but Gordon has done what he needs to do to develop his game with Denver this season, and the results have been quite promising.

Nuggets can to dominate the Western Conference for the remainder of the season. However, the X-Factor for Denver may not be either of these players, but rather Gordon, and if he continues to play at this level, the Nuggets will be difficult to beat for the rest of the season.