Gordon began his college basketball career with the UCLA Bruins, then transferred during his sophomore year to the New Mexico Lobos.

Gordon garnered a number of accolades for his play as the starting center for the Lobos, giving New Mexico a dominating inside presence.

[5] In addition, Gordon was also named second-team EA Sports 2007 All-American,[9] and a 2007 All-California State first-team selection.

[3] On May 7, 2007, Drew Gordon committed to play for Ben Howland at UCLA, choosing the Bruins over North Carolina, Duke, Arizona, Washington, Stanford, and California.

[14] He was also scored a 96 (out of 100) recruit by ESPN, who remarked that Gordon "should see some time coming off the bench" in their November 2007 official scouting report.

[19] However, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, Gordon left UCLA's basketball team to transfer,[20] in what was stated to be a "mutual parting".

[21] After parting ways with UCLA, Gordon quickly enrolled at the University of New Mexico, choosing the Lobos over Notre Dame, San Diego State, and UNLV.

[24] While waiting to become eligible on December 19, 2010, Gordon was noted as leading a group of "impact transfers" who made the Lobos the "biggest, most athletic team" in Alford's tenure.

He led the Lobos in rebounding 21 games and scored in double digits 22 times (including a streak of 12 from January 12 to February 23).

[39] Bleacher Report expanded on this selection and tabbed Gordon to be a dark horse candidate for Naismith College Player of the Year award.

[41][42] As the regular season started to roll around, another pair of preseason accolades were given to Gordon: Rivals.com ranked him as the tenth-best power forward in the nation (and the highest-ranked power forward from a mid-major conference),[43] and Ballin' is a Habit named Gordon as the ninth-best center in the nation.

[45] Gordon opened his senior season producing double-doubles with consistency, posting eight double-digit points and rebound performances in the first fourteen games.

His best non-conference games were wins versus Oklahoma State,[46] where he notched 13 points and 20 rebounds versus the Cowboys in the All-College Classic, a performance which garnered him acknowledgement as the Mountain West Player of the Week,[47] and New Mexico State, where he posted 23 points and 19 boards,[48] another performance in a win over Saint Louis,[49] which garnered Gordon another Mountain West Player of the Week,[50] the fourth of his career.

[72] On December 28, 2015, Gordon was elected "MVP de la quinzième journée" which is awarded to the best player of the week.

On August 9, 2021, he signed with Budivelnyk of the Ukrainian Basketball Super League,[82] where he was playing when Russia invaded Ukraine.

[83][89][90] He was driving a Vanderhall Carmel, a three-wheeled autocycle, that passed over the center line and collided with a pickup truck, whose driver and passenger were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.