NBA player Aaron Gordon has been a pillar of strength for his grieving parents, Ed Gordon and Shelly Davis Gordon, following the tragic passing of his older brother, Drew Gordon, in a car accident in May 2024.
Aaron grew up in a close-knit family where his parents, Ed and Shelly, were deeply involved in their children’s lives.
After his older brother, Drew, passed away tragically at the age of 33, Aaron stepped up to support his parents during their time of grief.
He comforted them by sharing memories of Drew and being a steady, calming presence.
Aaron’s father, Ed Gordon, was a basketball player who played college basketball at San Diego State University.
After college, Ed didn’t pursue a professional basketball career, but his love for the game stayed strong.
He passed that passion down to his kids: Aaron, his older brother Drew, and his sister Elise, who grew up playing basketball.
Drew even played in the NBA for a short time and later continued his career overseas, while Elise played at Harvard.
Aaron Gordon’s Mother, Shelly, Is a Computer Scientist With over Three Decades of Experience!
Aaron’s mother, Shelly Davis Gordon, had a very different career. She worked for 35 years as a computer scientist and engineer in Silicon Valley, the heart of the tech world.
Shelly started in the 1980s with a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from San Diego State and a master’s in marketing from the University of San Diego. She worked at big companies like Intel and Xilinx.
When Aaron was a kid, he’d visit his mom at work and notice something, i.e., almost everyone there was a white man.
Shelly, who is white, and her husband Ed, who is Black, raised Aaron and his siblings in a mixed-race family.
Aaron’s experience of the lack of diversity in tech stuck with him, which planted a seed that later grew into something big.
Ed and Shelly didn’t just give Aaron a love for basketball and tech, but they showed him how to use his talents to help others.
In 2018, when Aaron was with the Orlando Magic, he and his family started the Gordon Family Giving Foundation.
A year later, Aaron and Shelly launched CodeOrlando, a free summer camp in Florida to teach kids from underserved communities, primarily kids of color, about coding, robotics, and science.
Shelly brought her tech expertise to the program, while Aaron added his vision to show kids there’s more to life than sports or struggles.
He once said, “We’re just trying to show these kids there’s a different pathway … to break the generational curse.”
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Aaron Gordon played one year of college basketball at the University of Arizona, where he earned awards like Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Pac-12.
- He also played for Team USA and won gold medals at the 2011 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship and the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
