It may be hard to believe, but Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and the incomparable Wilt Chamberlain are being mentioned in the same breath.
Before Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Jordan led the NBA in rebounding (13.4 per game) and field-goal percentage (73.4%).
Chamberlain was the last player to finish a season shooting more than 70% from the field, when he made 72.7% of his shots during the 1972-73 season.
But it doesn’t stop there with Jordan and Chamberlain.
Jordan led the NBA in rebounds (10.4) and field-goal percentage (67.6%) last season.
If he finishes this season leading the league in both categories, Jordan would become the first player to accomplish that feat in consecutive seasons since Chamberlain in 1971-72 and 1972-73.
“That’s been my point. Why isn’t nobody noticing that?,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s amazing. I mean, what DJ has done last year and this year, it’s been amazing.”
Rivers feels that Jordan should have gotten more votes for the All-Star team.
The only way Jordan could make the team is to be voted in by the coaches as a reserve.
But that appears unlikely with so many good frontcourt players like Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Houston’s Dwight Howard in the Western Conference who have better offensive stats than Jordan, who averages 10.3 points per game and 2.39 blocks per game, second-best in the NBA.
“I think if DJ was doing what he’s doing on the defensive end on the offensive end, he’d be in,” Rivers said. “And every coach tells you that they want their players to sacrifice and be All-Star role players. Then you have a guy that actually does it and they don’t reward him. It just makes no sense to me. I’m trying to get the coaches to back their talk up basically and vote for DJ.”
It does seem as if all of Jordan’s points come off dunks.
Of the 263 field goals Jordan had made before Monday, 138 were on dunks. That actually leads the NBA.
That’s not an issue for Rivers.
“Listen, a lot of Wilt’s were too,” Rivers said, smiling. “He had a little more offense. To me it’s even more impressive because DJ knows what he should and shouldn’t do. That’s discipline.”
Rivers is lobbying other coaches
Rivers said he has lobbied to his other 29 NBA coaching brothers to vote for Jordan and Chris Paul, who also wasn’t selected as an All-Star, to be picked as reserves.
The 30 NBA coaches will choose the All-Stars on Thursday and they aren’t permitted to vote for players on their own team.
“With CP, just look at his body of work and the same thing with DJ,” Rivers said.
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