NEW ORLEANS – His leaping ability may have contributed toward the Clippers calling themselves “Lob City.” But that was not enough for DeAndre Jordan, who failed to advance out of the first round of the NBA Dunk Contest.
Despite finishing behind Indiana shooting guard Glenn Robinson III and Phoenix forward Derrick Jones Jr., Jordan described the event as “fun” and said he “had a really good time.”
That’s partly because Jordan represented his name well in multiple ways during his first dunk attempt.
He lived up both to his “DJ” nickname and to his dunking abilities by jumping over DJ Khaled and his turntables before throwing down a dunk to receive a total score of 41. Jordan called the idea “a group effort.”
“It was cool we got it on the first try,” Jordan said. “Khaled was good. He didn’t have to do too much. But it’s cool he snap chatted me though.”
Jordan followed with a one-handed dunk after performing a 360. Despite earning a score of 43, Jordan’s total score of 84 was not enough to advance out of the first round. While Robinson landed a perfect score after jumping over two people on his first attempt, Jones Jr. earned a perfect score after throwing a left handed dunk after catching Devin Booker’s pass off the side of the basket.
Jordan total score of 84 fared higher than Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, who had a 79. Though he sparked rave reviews for having a drone carry the basketball, Gordon did not convert until his third attempt that drew a score of 38. Gordon missed all four dunk attempts after performing a 360 and moving the ball underneath his legs.
“I didn’t flush it as hard as I wanted to,” Jordan said of his second dunk. “It was more of a push in. But it was cool man. I had a really good time.”
But apparently not enough of a good time to want to participate in the dunk contest again.
“No way,” Jordan said.
Jordan was then reminded Staples Center would host the NBA All-Star Game in 2018.
“If I make it again next year and it’s in L.A.,” Jordan said, “why not?”
But for now, Jordan will focus on the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday where the nine-year veteran will make his debut as a Western Conference reserve. He joked he is “gunning for MVP.”
“Now that I have one event knocked out, I’m not as nervous about (the game) as I was before,” Jordan said. “I’ll come out and have fun.”
Contact the writer: mmedina@scng.com
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