Doc Rivers: DeAndre Jordan Should Be 1st Player to Have Jersey Retired by Clippers

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIMarch 19, 2024

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Milwaukee Bucks head coach (and ex-Los Angeles Clippers head coach) Doc Rivers believes that ex-Clips star DeAndre Jordan should be the first person to have his number (No. 6) retired in franchise history.

Rivers made his remarks on the Sloane Knows! podcast.

NBA Beyond Court @NBABeyondCourtDoc Rivers says DeAndre Jordan should be the first player to have his jersey retired in the new Clippers arena

“He was the original one. He’s all defense, Olympic gold medalist, NBA champion. He stayed there the longest, was traded, never just left.”

(Via @sloaneknows) pic.twitter.com/AL0izhL0uy

Jordan played his first 10 NBA seasons (2008-2018) with the Clippers, averaging 9.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He made three All-NBA teams, including first team in 2015-16. Most notably, he was the big man on the legendary and high-flying Lob City teams, which also featured Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.

At one point, the Clippers had struggled for decades, to the point where the franchise once had 24 losing seasons over a 26-year span (1979-2005). However, Jordan was part of a core that helped turn the team around, to the point where they made the playoffs six straight seasons while he was there. The Clippers are now one of the league’s stronger teams, to the point where they haven’t had a losing record since 2010-2011.

Rivers was Jordan’s coach for five seasons, so he obviously has some good input on the matter. Whether or not that actually comes to fruition is up for debate, but the now-Denver Nuggets big man certainly had a great run with the Clippers.