Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was the most surprising All-Star reserve selection last Thursday. Even he didn't see it coming. Jordan told The Undefeated's Marc Spears that he had planned a trip to Hawaii over the break, but got the word about the honor just in time:
So you didn't think you would be selected as an All-Star?
After practice on Thursday, I had my trip to Hawaii ready to go. I was superexcited about it. I was waiting for this one last little thing [All-Star announcement]. I was leaving at 6 in the morning [of Feb. 16] and was ready to rock. Someone texted me and said, 'Hey, you got to cancel that trip to Hawaii.' I was like, 'No, this is done. This is set. What's up?'
I was thinking that they would have known at practice if I made it or not. They didn't say nothing at practice, so I was like, 'Cool, I didn't make it. I'm about to set my trip up.'
Who was the first person you contacted?
I called my mom and said, 'I'm not going to Hawaii.' And she was like, 'Why not? What's going on?' So I said, 'I made the All-Star team.' She said, 'Oh, my God. For real? Don't play with me, boy.' I said, 'For real.' She said, 'DeAndre, stop playing.' I said, 'This is what I was told,' She said, 'What they say? They better not be bulls--ing, you.' I said, 'Mom, I'm telling you what they told me.' So she was superexcited.
I called my brothers and told them. They were superexcited. I told my son and he is only 13 months old. And he looked at me like, 'All right. Whatever. I don't know what you're talking about.' He wasn't like, 'Daddy made the All-Star team.' He was just like, 'OK, read me this book. I don't care what you're talking about.' But I was superexcited. Nine years. Some years I thought I was going to make it. Some years I knew I wasn't going to make it. This was pretty exciting.
Jordan is obviously an All-Star caliber player, having evolved into one of the best defenders in the league over the past few seasons. He faced stiff competition in the Western Conference frontcourt, though, with centers DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol and Rudy Gobert all looking like deserving All-Stars. The Jordan selection meant that Gobert missed the cut, and some have speculated that the injury to Clippers guard Chris Paul inadvertently made that happen -- coaches decided to vote for one Jazz player (Gordon Hayward) and one Clipper (Jordan).
Regardless of how you feel about Gobert's snub, it's hard not to be happy for Jordan here. He was the No. 35 pick in the 2008 draft, a total project who played one uninspiring year at Texas A&M. In nine seasons with the Clippers, he has developed into a force on both ends of the court without stepping outside of his role or making a big deal out of the fact that they don't throw him the ball in the post. Jordan has improved every season, and now he'll get to throw down some alley-oop dunks at the NBA's biggest showcase. This is even better than a trip to Hawaii.
