He Was An UNGUARDABLE Shooter… Until His Mind BETRAYED HIM

He Was An UNGUARDABLE Shooter… Until His Mind BETRAYED HIM

Back out to Gordon. Gordon looking. Gordon for three. Bang. Ben Gordon ties the game. Ben Gordon was a pure sniper and one of the clutchest players in the NBA. In 2009, he averaged 24 points and led the Bulls to seven games against the Celtics and arguably the greatest playoff series of all time. But just 6 years later, he was out of the league at age 31. One bad decision ruined his entire career and life took him to the darkest places afterwards. He stabbed random people. Like he’s a real bipolar. It’s not that Kanye bipolar that that fake one. This is a real bipolar. This is the tragic downfall of the quiet and gentle assassin Bang Gordon. If you looked at me, you might be like, “Is this dude dumb or is he bored?” But inside, my mind is on fire. I’m on a loop. I’m thinking about getting the ball in my hands and raising up. release. Pure smooth boom. Straight cash every time, every shot. Murdering you. Gentle Ben, quiet Ben, murdering you. And he really was like that. Ever since he entered the league in ’04, Ben had the same straight face at the start of the games and in crunch time when others were hiding from the ball. As a Yukon Huskys legend, leading them to the championship right before the draft, Gordon was more than ready for the pros. Coming off the bench for a pretty young Chicago team that included Kirk Hinrich, Luell Deng, and 22-year-old Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler. Gordon put up 15 points per game on 40% from downtown, winning the six man of the year award in his rookie campaign. Actually, he’s the only one in NBA history to do so. In his second season, Ben continued making history. He exploded for nine threes on a perfect shooting from beyond the ark against the Washington Wizards. He tied Latril’s Pree’s record from 2003 for most threes without a single miss. Nine for nine from deep is absolutely ridiculous and he drained a game-winning shot from the corner with 50 seconds left in the game as Washington was unable to respond at the end. So by the time the playoffs came, Gordon had earned the spot in the starting five. And despite falling to the eventual champions Miami Heat in six games, Ben showed he’s prepared to go mono against Dwe himself. Gordon over Michael Doliaak it down. Don’t lie. He just has difficulty playing. He can’t score, can’t shoot. Gordon a three. This guy can Ben Gordon 11 field goals has 29 points. Gordon back the other way right around Jason Williams over Gary Payton. Game tied at 87. Terrific performance from Ben Gordon. 31 points in game one. The Bulls are trying to steal one. Final seconds of the third. Gordon putting a move on Anderson. Gordon all the way. After bumping his average from 17 to 21 points in the playoffs. Gordon was ready to have a breakout season in ‘ 06 07. His first 40piece came in a win against the Heat around Christmas. And just 5 days later, Ben posted another 40-point game in a tight loss against the Suns. But no one was ready for the epic death match against Michael Reddd and the Bucks. Step back. Step back. He’s going to step back. Duhan. And now Red to the Step back. He’s going to step back. Not much Chris Duhan could do. Michael Red now with 30 points. Red deep three again. Ring it up. My goodness. 44. had to do some gambling. Milwaukee by 11 and right back Ben Gordon long deuce. So Ben heating up here in this fourth quarter. Gordon stepped back deep too. Splashes that one. Red was phenomenal with 52 points. But it was Gordon who stole the show on the road. He scored 20 of his career-high 48 points in the fourth quarter alone, bringing Chicago back from an 18-point deficit. Griffin for the short jump shot. There it is. Griff 110 to 109. The Bulls back to within one. Ben Gordon pulls up over at the elbow. Tough shot. It is good. It is good. Ben Gordon fires a dagger. Gordon crossing over Williams into the lane. Traces and hits. It was too much of gentle ban at the end as the Bulls were able to complete the comeback. Gordon finished the 0607 season averaging 21 and a half points, three rebounds, and three and a half assists on 41.3% from long range. And the Bulls had the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference. Besides our hero, Chicago had another Ben on the roster and Big Ben Wallace aka the Shackstopper. So they avenged themselves in the first round of the playoffs in the best way possible by sweeping the reigning champs Miami Heat in four games. This is now the white flag of surrender here. They’ll be a new champion in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls have eliminated the Miami Heat. Swept them in four. But in the second round, they faced the number one seated Detroit Pistons. And their hopes of making a deep playoff run ended in six games. The following year, when everyone expected for the Bulls to take the next step, they failed miserably. After starting the season 9 and 16, Chicago fired coach Scott Skyles. But Jim Boland didn’t see much of a success either as the team finished with a disappointing 33 and 49 record missing the playoffs. Ben was still the leading scorer of the team with 18 1.5 points on 41% efficiency from three-point range. But it was clear by now that he can’t be the first option on a championship caliber team. So, the $50 million deal that was once on the table for Gordon, which he reportedly refused, was now removed, and they signed him to a one-year qualifying offer worth just $6 million. Their bad record and a ton of luck secured them the number one pick in the 2008 draft. And you already know who they picked. With the first pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls select Derek Rose from the University of Memphis. Chicago got their hands on Derek Rose and he turned the team around immediately. Rose goes back door and he throws it down. Pretty bounce pass and a strong finish from the 20-year-old rookie Rose ins. Get out the way. Wow move. Get out the way. Continue to get some playing time. Salmon and there’s Rose with an acrobatic move. That’s your athleticism right there. Nice hang time. Rose uplifted Gordon as well, getting him quality looks all season long as Ben returned to averaging above 20 points on 45 1.5% from the field and a traditional 41% from downtown. So, Chicago was back in the playoff mix, but only as the seventh seed, and they had to face another defending champion in the first round, the Boston Celtics. Though, they missed Kevin Garnett due to injury. So the Bulls saw their chance there and they took it right away. Playoffs. Great look for Ben Gordon. It was a Thomas screen that freed up Gordon. I love Ben Gordon. Ben Gordon is open and bangs it home. Miller’s got 14. Miller’s got 10. Oh my goodness. Chicago stuns the basketball world by stealing game one in Boston on the backs of their rookie Derek Rose, who excelled in his playoff debut with 36 points and 11 assists. Gordon followed him with 20 points and a couple of huge plays down the stretch. Game two brought us the epic shootout between Ben and Ray Allen. Not feeling this pressure. They’re feeling big time pressure from this Bulls team right now. Off the screen, Allen over Gordon. That is a three-point shot. Ray Allen has exploded in the second half. Retrieved by Rose with all his speed into Davis and out to Gordon. Closed by Dallas. It’s a three ball right down the middle for Ben Gordon. Ahead to Gordon. That’s a three over. That’s good. Oh, he is on fire. Real in by Rondo outside for man. Both guys pulled out the big guns for this one. Big shot after big shot and it all came down to this. That was his own run though. Allen over. Oh, Ray Allen is tied again. Ray Allen saves the Celtics with the gamewinner over Noah at the end. In game three, Boston showed a glimpse of their true power, beating the Bulls by 21 points in Chicago. But in game four, Ben made sure to return the favor. Back out to Gordon. Gordon looking. Gordon for three. Bang. Ben Gordon ties the game. Good execution out of the timeout. Ben Gordon should have been grabbed immediately. to allow him to get a little bit of air space. Knocks down the jumper and ties this ball game. There’s the quiet assassin right on point. Ben ties the game, forcing a second overtime in which he and John Salmons proved to be too much for Boston. Gordon rises up again, puts it in, goes with their first lead of the overtime. Touch pass. Salmons pass it. With the series being tied at two apiece, we go back to Boston for a game five that saw the truth. Doing what he does best. Is this the target three Paul Pierce with a huge shot? He’s got 26. Which brings us to game six, the iconic death match in the series that saw John Salmons and Brad Miller being the heroes for Chicago. Salman beats Davis rides inside with a go. John Salman’s with 23. Four of 12. Tony Allen’s in there for defense. And Allen watches as a beautiful shot is put in by Brad Miller. [Music] And if there weren’t enough overtimes, this game had three of them. Shman’s on Ellen. Screen by Pierce over Henry. The three for the tie. Oh, he hit it. What a dagger thrown in by Ray Allen. His 49th point. But in front of their home fans, the Bulls weren’t going to surrender no matter what. Shot clock at nine. Mismatch. Salmon. Watches Rose. Derek Rose. He’s got 26. He’s 11 of 21. Rebound for clean by Rose in the paint over Pierce. Oh, what a shot by the rookie of the year. Knocked it away. Galloping with Pierce. An instant classic as the underdogs forced a decisive game seven back in Boston. Ben didn’t disappoint and bowled out for one last time with 33 points. Green by Noah opens up the shot for Gordon right over Pierce. That’s a triple the hand back. Gordon the pump fake and he’s got his 33rd point. But unfortunately, the Bulls came up short at the end. And this goes down as probably the greatest playoff series of all time, including 65 ties, 108 lead changes, and seven overtimes. That was sadly the last appearance for Ben in the Bulls uniform. In the summer, he signed for the Detroit Pistons for the same amount of money he turned down the year prior. At least he got his 50 mil, so he stayed in Detroit for three seasons in which they never even sniffed the playoffs. He had an ankle surgery in 2010 which diminished his physical abilities a lot. He would come off the bench behind Rodney Stucky and occasionally pop off like this. Gordon takes a heat check. That’s good. They’re running everything by Gordon. Pistons could get the lead. Ben Gordon for three. That’s good. Pistons redot. Gordon shoots another three and hits again. I don’t know what Tai’s looking at the coach, but that’s on top. In 2012, out of nowhere, Gordon exploded for 45 points on a perfect nine for nine from downtown, tying his own record from 2006. And this was probably a bigger splash. Dude made seven threes in a 5minute span in the second quarter against Philly. And wide open for the long gun and got it. PG with another three. And this one’s through. BG for three again. It’s through again. He knows it as soon as he lets it go. BG for three again. Through again. Forget about it. He finished the game on eight of 10 from long range in just 22 minutes of action. But his days in Detroit would come to an end as he was traded to the Bobcats for Cory Mcetti in Charlotte. He was down to 20 minutes per game, but still managed to pull some aces out of his sleeve. Bobcats rebound. The long miss by Lillard from three. Here’s three from Gordon. No, Gordon draws all kinds of attention by the 2×4. Gordon, pull up. Shoot. Good. Come on. Oh my. One thing is certain, he was a certified sniper, and a shooter will always have his aim. But his ankles weren’t the same as he was troubled by some nagging injuries ever since Detroit. So in 2014, he saw the least playing time and a sharp decline in his numbers. Charlotte waved him and the last chance came from Orlando, but it was already too late for his resurgence. Gordon ended his career at 31 years of age in 2015 after posting six points and 14 minutes of action for a lousy Magic team. And a couple of years after that, disturbing news about Ben Gordon’s private life surfaced on the web. This is not something we’ve seen with other retired NBA players. Getting arrested for carrying guns, drunk driving, or getting into a fight is one thing, but this former NBA player Ben Gordon was arrested at LaGuardia Airport after allegedly hitting his child last night. Van Gordon seems to be having some mental issues trying to stab people. Weapon of choice so use. This is way over the top. In 2020, he was open about his bipolar disorder and spent two years in therapy. But a lot of this is after his letter for the Players Tribune, and that was scary. However, in 2024, an ESPN article wrote that Gordon is being released of all charges and is going to be supervised until September of 2025, stating his mental progress after attending additional 55 psychotherapy sessions. And in the last video footage of him just five months ago, we can see him getting inducted into Yukon’s Huskies of Honor and the 2004 National Championship. After the jersey retirement media members asked him the sensitive question, your players tribune story was very impactful and I’m just wondering, are you in a good place right now? I mean, in your life, do you feel like Yeah. Yeah, I’m in a good place. I’m in a good place. Um, and I thought it was important for me to write an article or, you know, to do an interview like that because so many of us go through times of depression or whatever the case may be. A lot of athletes go through that and some of them are, you know, it’s hard to muster up the courage to talk about things like that. So, um, that was important for me. I’m in a way better space now. Um, I’m healthy, you know, my family’s healthy and, um, everything’s going well. I’m genuinely glad to hear this and I hope that his mental problems are behind him. The NBA fans will always remember him as the gentle man ready to kill you on the basketball court. And one player that’s been notoriously blamed for his vicious posters over people is Amari Startmire. Before Giannis and Blake Griffin, we had Stat as the original freak of nature. I documented all highs and lows of his career right here in this video. So check it out and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.

Ben Gordon was a pure sniper, and one of the clutchest players in the NBA. In 2009 he averaged 24 points and led the Bulls to 7 games against the Celtics in arguably the greatest playoff series of all-time. But just 6 years later he was out of the league at age 31.
One bad decision ruined his entire career, and life took him to the darkest places afterwards…
This is the tragic downfall of the quiet and gentle assassin – Ben Gordon.
“If you just looked at me, you might be like, “Is this dude dumb, or is he bored?
But inside, my mind is on fire. I’m on a loop. I’m thinking about getting the ball in my hands and raising up, release, pure, smooth, boom — straight cash. Every time. Every shot. Murdering you. Gentle Ben. Quiet Ben. Murdering you.”
And he really was like that. Ever since he entered the league in ‘04, Ben had the same straight face at the start of games and in crunchtime when others were hiding from the ball.
As a Uconn Huskies legend, leading them to the championship right before the draft, Gordon was more than ready for the pros.
Coming off the bench for a pretty young Chicago team that included Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and 22 year olds Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, Gordon put up 15 points per game on 40% from downtown, winning the 6th man of the year award in his rookie campaign. Actually, he’s the only one in NBA history to do so.
In his 2nd season, Ben continued making history. He exploded for 9 – 3’s on a perfect shooting from beyond the arc against the Washington Wizards. He tied Latrell Sprewell’s record from 2003 for most 3’s without a single miss. 9 for 9 from deep is absolutely ridiculous.
And he drained the game winning shot from the corner with 50 seconds left in the game, as Washington was unable to respond at the end.
So, by the time the playoffs came, Gordon had earned a spot in the starting 5. And despite falling to the eventual champions – Miami Heat in 6 games, Ben showed he’s prepared to go mano a mano against D-Wade himself.
After bumping his average from 17 to 21 points in the playoffs, Gordon was ready to have a breakout season in ‘06-07. His 1st 40 piece came in a win against the Heat around Christmas.
And just 5 days later, Ben posted another 40 point game in a tight loss against the Suns.
But no one was ready for the epic deathmatch against Michael Redd and the Bucks.
Redd was phenomenal with 52 points, but it was Gordon who stole the show on the road.
He scored 20 of his career high 48 points in the 4th quarter alone, bringing Chicago back from an 18 point deficit.
It was too much of Gentle Ben at the end as the Bulls were able to complete the comeback.
Gordon finished the ‘06-07 season averaging 21.4 points, 3 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 41.3% from long range, and the Bulls had the 5th best record in the Eastern Conference. Besides our hero, Chicago had another Ben on the roster in Big Ben Wallace a.k.a The Shaq stopper.
So, they avenged themselves in the 1st round of the playoffs in the best way possible by sweeping the reigning champs – Miami Heat in 4 games.
But in the 2nd round they faced the number 1 seeded – Detroit Pistons, and their hopes of making a deep playoff run ended in 6 games.
The following year, when everyone expected for the Bulls to take the next step, they failed miserably. After starting the season 9-16, Chicago fired coach Scott Skiles.
But Jim Boylan didn’t see much of a success either, as the team finished with a disappointing 33-49 record, missing the playoffs.
Ben was still the leading scorer of the team, with 18.5 points on 41% efficiency from 3 point range. But it was clear by now that he can’t be the 1st option on a championship caliber team.
So, the $50 mil deal that once was on the table for Gordon which he reportedly refused, was now removed and they signed him to a 1 year qualifying offer worth just $6 mil dollars.
Their bad record and a ton of luck secured them the number 1 pick in the 2008 draft. And you already know who they picked.
Chicago got their hands on Derrick Rose and he turned the team around immediately.
Rose uplifted Gordon as well, getting him quality looks all season long, as Ben returned to averaging above 20 points on 45.5% from the field and a traditional 41% from downtown.
So, Chicago was back in the playoff mix but only as the 7th seed. And they had to face another defending champion in the 1st round – The Boston Celtics. They missed Kevin Garnett due to injury, so the Bulls saw their chance there. And they took it right away.
Chicago stuns the basketball world by stealing game 1 in Boston on the backs of their rookie D-Rose who excelled in his debut with 36 points and 11 assists. Gordon followed him with 20 points and a couple of huge plays down the stretch.
Game 2 brought us the epic shootout between Ben and Ray Allen.
Geez, both guys pulled out the big guns for this one. Big shot after big shot and it all came down to this.