*Welcome to our Sixers player preview series, where in the weeks leading up to Media Day we will preview the upcoming 2025-26 season for each and every member of the Sixers' standard roster.*For each player, we will pose two key questions about their season before making a prediction.
The pressure is on after a miserable 24-58 campaign last season. After entering a year with championship aspirations and spending multiple months having to tank for the sake of a protected first-round pick, the Sixers have lost any and all benefit of the doubt that their signature season is finally coming.
It is safe to say there is a whole lot of work to do on the Sixers' end to prove the doubters wrong. Do they have a roster good enough to make it happen?
Up next: Eric Gordon, one of the most accomplished three-point shooters in NBA history. Gordon came to Philadelphia last season in hopes of finally capturing a championship. But as the availability of the team's stars continued to dwindle, Gordon struggled. Gordon turned 36 years old on Christmas Day, and his advanced age was showing itself. The team decided to bring him back to secure not just his three-point shooting, but mentorship for No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe, one of Gordon's teammates with Team Bahamas. Will Gordon, back on a veteran's minimum contract, find a way to help this team win?
SIXERS PLAYER PREVIEWS
Jared McCain | Justin Edwards | VJ Edgecombe | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr.
Johni Broome | Adem Bona | Andre Drummond | Trendon Watford | Eric Gordon
Can Gordon hold his three-point accuracy consistently?
Based on how Sixers fans feel about Gordon being back – and how they felt about him when a wrist injury ended his season in February – it is almost unfathomable that he actually shot 40.9 percent from beyond the arc with the team on significant volume (8.8 three-point attempts per 100 possessions). But Gordon did indeed, in the aggregate, post elite shooting numbers last season.
Why is there such a disconnect between Gordon's numbers and how Sixers fans felt about him then? The key factor driving it: Gordon had an unspeakably good month of January, when he went from out of the rotation to into the starting lineup because he could not miss from long range. It propped up his brutal struggles before and after:
Month Games Played 3PA/G 3P%
October 4 3.3 23.1
November 12 2.4 24.1
December 3 3.0 44.4%
January 17 4.6 52.6%
February 3 2.7 12.5
The question is not whether Gordon is going to be the player who made over half of his threes in January or the one who made fewer than a quarter of them across October and November. The answer to that question, of course, would be neither. He is a far better shooter than what he showed early on, but not good enough to sustain the volume and accuracy he posted during an absurd midseason stretch.
Gordon working his way into a regular rotation role will be a major uphill battle; the Sixers have Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and Edgecombe all on roster with Quentin Grimes still expected to join them eventually. If he can pull it off, Gordon will need to be a stable presence spacing the floor.
Gordon knocking down over 40 percent of his long-range tries would be a great outcome; doing so with the sort of dispersion of makes he had last year would seriously jeopardize his ability to hold down a steady role.
MORE: Does Gordon have any good seasons left?
Will Gordon have value to contenders late in the season?
Before even evaluating Gordon's own abilities, it is clearly difficult to project him being a rotation piece for this team. And the veteran sharpshooter is a whole lot closer to the end of his career than he is the beginning of it. Gordon has made tons of money in the NBA and is clearly a minimum player at this point. The one thing he does not have is a ring.
All of that begs the question: if the Sixers do not look like a true championship contender in February, what will Gordon's fate be?
Could he request a buyout to join a team of his preference? The Sixers could try to trade Gordon, but if he is not playing will there be any team even willing to trade a second-round pick for him? Being on a minimum salary makes it easy to conceive, but Gordon must demonstrate that he can still occupy some sort of role for a team trying to win at the highest of levels.
Generally speaking, teams are typically willing to bet on veteran players helping them when they have experience and are easy to slot into star-laden lineups. Gordon fits both of those descriptors quite well. Reputation alone, however, will not convince a contending team to pursue him. In 2025-26, Gordon must prove not just to the Sixers, but to the rest of the NBA as well, that he is still capable of playing meaningful minutes.
MORE: Why should anyone care about the Sixers?
Prediction
Gordon plays well enough to justify a minimum contract, but fails to emerge as a rotation regular with the Sixers. He finishes the season with another team after either a trade or buyout.
Gordon's significant limitations in terms of athleticism and size are extremely evident these days, and it is difficult to envision him ever having an ironclad rotation case in the NBA again given his dwindling defensive utility and lack of usable ball skills. But Gordon can still fire away from not just beyond the arc, but well beyond the arc. He is one of the most proficient long-range snipers in league history. That means something.
So, the guess here is that Gordon still looks the part of an NBA player in 2025-26, despite his 37th birthday coming up. However, he profiles as a situational chess piece at best moving forward, not someone any team should rely on. On a minimum contract, that is an asset, especially given how many teams begin to covet shooting and playoff experience when they solidify themselves as contenders. Gordon could stand to gain an opportunity from that dynamic as his NBA career draws closer to its conclusion.
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