This weekly series from Clippers.com features a Q&A with Clippers players, coaches, alumni or those somehow tied to the Clippers’ organization. The next edition features center DeAndre Jordan during All-Star weekend.
NEW ORLEANS – DeAndre Jordan participated Saturday in his first NBA slam dunk contest, starting out by jumping over DJ Khaled’s booth and snagging the ball out of Khaled’s hand on his way up.
That dunk earned a score of 41, which Jordan followed with a 42 in his second dunk, going between the legs on a 360. Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III ended up winning the Verizon Slam Dunk Contest, in a group that consisted of Jordan, Robinson, Phoenix’s Derrick Jones Jr. and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon.
Here’s what Jordan had to say after the event.
Who thought of the DJ over DJ Khaled dunk?
DJ: “It was a group effort, but it was cool. We got it on the first try. Khaled was good. He didn’t have to really do too much, but it was cool that he Snapchatted it.”
What’d you think of the second dunk?
DJ: “My second one, I didn’t flush it as hard as I wanted to. It was more of a push-in, but it was cool. I had a really good time.”
What’s the process of whittling down your dunks like?
DJ: “I had an order. I was going in that order, so if I had made it to the next round, I would’ve had some other things. The Khaled one I thought was cool. I really have to thank him for staying and being a part of it.”
Did you know coming into the weekend that was going to happen?
DJ: “Yeah, we knew. We knew that was going to be one, but we didn’t know when we were going to do it. He had just performed, so we had just decided let’s just do it first. They made me go first, so that was perfect.”
You said you might have some nerves coming in. Was that the case?
DJ: “Yeah. We were sitting in the back, and I was getting kind of tight. Then they’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, you’re going first. I’m like, ‘Great, this is perfect.’ That was a good way to get the jitters out.”
How did you feel about how it went?
DJ: “Just being able to come out, this being my first event, it was cool, man. I got to see some really cool dunks, and congratulations to Glenn.”