The Denver Nuggets won’t have Aaron Gordon on Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings.
And likely longer.
Gordon aggravated his hamstring injury very early against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. The Nuggets rallied for a huge win over the Houston Rockets without him, but Gordon was hurt in the first quarter and went right to the locker room.
Head coach David Adelman said after the game Gordon is expected to miss some time, and that makes sense. It’s still November — and the Nuggets have championship aspirations. There’s no reason to rush him back.
Meanwhile, with Gordon on the shelf, the Nuggets are making a move with former first-round pick DaRon Holmes II. He’s being recalled from the G League.
Aaron Gordon is out tonight. The Nuggets have also recalled DaRon Holmes from the G League.
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) November 22, 2025
Holmes has played well with the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets G League affiliate. On Wednesday night he posted 27 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in a 114-95 win.
Holmes missed his entire rookie year with an Achilles tear, suffered in his summer league debut in 2024. Denver picked Holmes with the 22nd pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Dayton. Many thought he could’ve been a rotation player in the NBA a season ago before the devastating injury.
But despite the massive setback, the rehab for Holmes clearly went well and he’s again playing solid basketball. It makes sense the Nuggets had him with the Gold, getting minutes on the court rather than sitting on Denver’s bench. He’s played in just two games for the NBA team this season, totaling only four minutes.
With Gordon out though (for exactly how long remains to be seen), Adelman could turn to Holmes for meaningful playing time. The 12-3 Nuggets will travel to Memphis on Monday then be off until next Friday against San Antonio.
It’s a bummer Gordon is down, but Holmes being back up is an intriguing development.
