DeAndre Jordan Is An NBA All Star!

Despite being an All-NBA and All-Defensive team member each of the last two years, DeAndre Jordan has never been an NBA All Star, which is actually a less selective award. That will not be the case anymore, as Marc Stein of ESPN has reported that DeAndre Jordan will make the All Star team as a reserve.

This is actually a surprise of sorts, as DeAndre Jordan hasn’t been getting a ton of attention during this injury-plagued Clippers’ season. But he is fully deserving, putting up 12.5 points and 14 rebounds per game along with 1.8 blocks while shooting 69% from the field. He’s even shooting a respectable (for him) 51.4% from the line, which has limited the usage of hack-a-DJ against the Clippers. DJ is an exceptional defensive player, one of the best in the league, and is a huge difference maker for the Clippers.

Chris Paul, sadly, has not made the All Star game, assuredly to the injury which will keep him sidelined until March. He still should have made the game due to his absurd numbers and impact on the Clippers, and it’s somewhat disappointing that he wasn’t rewarded for it.

The most exciting part of DJ making the All Star team is that it opens the door for him to finally participate in the Slam Dunk Contest— he said he wouldn’t play in it until he actually made the regular team. Let’s hope he does sign up for the Dunk Contest, because he would be absolutely explosive.

Final congrats to DJ, who has deserved this for years, and has put in so much hard work to reach this stage!