“The best player on the court, in the world, is Nikola Jokic,” Westbrook said in an interview shared by The Denver Post. “It’s the reason why they’ve got five people in the paint. If I’m the other team, I’d try to do that too.”

The guard, who won NBA MVP honors in 2017 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, acknowledged the defensive schemes aimed at limiting Jokic’s impact but emphasized that it’s still worth passing him the ball, even if it means taking a risk. “I’ll turn it over 20 times trying to pass him the ball. I don’t really care… It’s our job as a supporting cast to make sure we help make the game easier for him,” Westbrook explained.

Jordan defends Jokic’s MVP case

As the debate rages on regarding whether this season’s MVP award should go to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or whether Nikola Jokic deserves to claim the honor for the fourth time in the past five years, DeAndre Jordan has no doubts. “He will always be our MVP, one, because he is, and two, I don’t want to get traded. I’m always going to vouch for Jokic,” he stated hilariously in an interview with Run It Back.

“I mean, Shai has done some amazing things; I give Shai a ton of credit,” Jordan acknowledged, referring to the Thunder star. However, he immediately highlighted why he believes Jokic is the more deserving candidate. “He’s averaging 29 (points), 13 (rebounds), and 11 (assists) for the fourth straight year… He may not have the best defensive stats as far as steals and blocks, but he changes the game so significantly as well because he has quick hands. He’s super smart.”

Finally, Jordan reflected on Jokic’s immense value to the Nuggets, stating: “Nikola is just so valuable to our team, especially with what he’s doing at his size, and the way he passes the basketball, just gets everybody involved. It’s great.”

Jokic’s numbers

Nikola Jokic’s case for the 2025 NBA MVP award is strongly supported by his impressive statistics. The Serbian center ranks among the top three in the league in all three major categories: third in points per game (28.8), third in rebounds (12.8), and second in assists (10.4).

However, the competition remains fierce, particularly with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is on track to claim the scoring title this season. The stellar performance of the Oklahoma City Thunder, currently leading the Western Conference with a 51-11 record, further strengthens Gilgeous-Alexander’s chances of securing the MVP award.

Nothing’s granted in the league. It’s a ruthless business, and players have to earn every single second they set foot on the basketball court. Needless to say, that doesn’t get any easier as the years go by and the body is weaker.

Having a long career in the NBA isn’t for everybody. But all goodthings eventually come to an end, and this won’t be the exception to that rule. Check out the top 3 former stars most likely to retire after this season.

NBA Rumors: 3 Former Stars Who Could Retire After This Season

3. DeAndre Jordan

Not so long ago, DeAndre Jordan was considered one of the most dominant rebounders and rim protectors in the league. But the athleticism is the first thing to go away, and he’s lost most of his lateral quickness and timely hops.

Jordan has become a liability on both ends of the floor. He’s no longer the high-flyer who could finish above the rim almost at will, and he gets exposed every time he tries to guard the perimeter.

2. Rudy Gay

While he never took that step forward as the perennial All-Star most analysts thought he’d be, Rudy Gay was still one of the most serviceable two-way players in the league at some point. But that seems like it happened ages ago.

Gay has been in and out of the Utah Jazz rotation this season. He needs more touches to be an offensive factor, and he can no longer stay in front of faster players. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and unlikely to gauge a lot of interest.

1. Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala was reportedly on the fence about retiring or coming back this season. His Golden State Warriors teammates convinced him to suit up and run it back for what might as well be his final season.

Iguodala will go down as one of the greatest Sixth Men in league history. He embraced a lesser role in the Bay area after being an All-Star, and it paid off with four NBA championships and one Finals MVP award.

Harden is already enjoying the love from the fans and is also drawing a lot of praise for his immediate connection with MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid. On top of that, a familiar face has recently joined him at the Wells Fargo Center.

DeAndre Jordan signed for the Sixers last weekafterbeing released by the Los Angeles Lakersand is reunited with Harden after their time togetherat the Nets last year. The veterancenterseems to be excited with his new team and especially with The Beard.

DeAndre Jordansays James Harden sets up easy baskets better than anyone else

“I mean, for a big, or anybody trying to get easy baskets, he’s the best guy to play with,” Jordan said Monday morning speaking for the first time since he joined the Sixers, per ESPN. “He’s so unselfish when it comes to passing and getting guys open and getting other guys going because he can get himself going at any point in time.”

Besides Harden, Jordan has met other familiar faces in Phillyas he had previously played under Doc Rivers at the Los AngelesClippers, where he also played with Tobias Harris. The move suited perfectly for both Jordan and the Sixers, who needed someoneelse at center following Andre Drummond‘s departure.

“There were other situations, but I’m familiar with Doc, I was with him for years,” Jordan said. “James, Tobias, and Joel and I are cool. And, yeah, with Andre leaving, they needed another backup center, so it was mutual.”

It will be interesting to see what he can bring to the table in Philadelphia. Jordan didn’t enjoy much game time with the Lakers this season, so it’s definitely going to be an opportunity of redemption for the 33-year-old in a team that has high aspirations.

But, of course, the aspirations are always high for such a popular team. That’s why the Lakers have been subject of multiple trade scenarios that could improve their luck this campaign, the problem is they’re not in a good spot to get what they need in return.

However, the front office has started to address possible departures to free up space in their roster. Rajon Rondo was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers a few days ago, and according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Lakers will try to trade two more players.

NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers looking to trade two more players

“They’ve already offloaded a player in Rondo to create a roster spot and they’re looking to do more of that,” Windhorst said. “From teams that I’ve talked to, they are out there. With LeBron starting at center and eventually getting Anthony Davis back, they are looking to move DeAndre Jordan. Not necessarily for another player, but to move him so they can open up a roster spot.

“Kent Bazemore is another player that they’ve been willing to talk about. And I think again their goal is open up a roster spot. The Rondo move looks like it was gonna be designed for Stanley Johnson to fill. But they may look at the buyout market for another player or two. They’re trying to figure out how to do that.”

Rondo’s departure left opten aspot for Stanley Johnson, whose 10-day contract expired on Sunday but will likely sign another one soon. But when the health problems in their roster are solved, they’d hit the maximum limit of players. So, in order to free up space, the Lakers wouldtry to move on Jordan and Bazemore.

On the flip side, the Brooklyn Nets are the clear-cut favorites to go the distance out of the Eastern Conference. That’s unsurprising considering how much talent they have on their roster.

Then again, former Nets player DeAndre Jordan doesn’t seem too convinced of the Nets and Lakers’ chances, as he recently explained why you shouldn’t sleep on other teams, including the reigning champions.

DeAndre Jordan Says The Lakers And Nets Aren’t A Lock To Make The NBA Finals

(Transcript via Lakers Nation)

“I got love for a lot of those guys over there, but at the end of the day, in the West you got to go through Phoenix and in the East you got to go through Milwaukee, regardless of what everybody else wants to say,” Jordan said after Saturday’s practice.

“Obviously both teams have championship aspirations, so I’m not going to say that we don’t want to be playing late in June for a title. But it’s going to take 82 games for us to be able to get and get ready and I’m sure the same for those guys. But we can’t look at tomorrow as a Finals prediction. If it happens, it happens, but I think we’re just trying to focus on us and us being healthy and us figuring out a way to be able to be there in June.”

“At the end of the day, it’s another basketball game. You never know who’s gonna play, who’s not gonna play. So you can’t go into games like this thinking about anything but us going in there and focusing on what we’ve been practicing in the past week and trying to incorporate it into a game.”

We couldn’t have said it better. The NBA season hasn’t even started so it’s too early to say who’s going to be playing in June. Hopefully, the 2021-22 NBA season will be full of surprises again.

Jordan will fight for minutes with another veteran in Dwight Howard. But in reality, it’s more likely that they’ll have a bit of a timeshare at the center position, given that both are pretty similar players at this point in their careers.

Moreover, Jordan opened up on multiple subjects during his introductory press conference, including the rivalry between Lakers and Clippers, his new role, and teaming up with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.

DeAndre Jordan Says Los Angeles Is A Lakers Town

Jordan’s career in the league started off in Los Angeles but with the Clippers. He was their defensive anchor for a decade and starred during the “Lob City” era. Even so, he always knew that Los Angeles was a Lakers town:

“I think I was treated pretty fairly and pretty good when I was a Clipper for 10 years,” Jordan told the media. “But obviously, this is a big sports town and a lot of the fans are Lakers fans. Even when I was with the Clippers, we understood that. But, I had great years when I was with the Clippers and that franchise was amazing to me and I appreciate the time that I was there, for sure.”

Jordan Opens Up On Playing With LeBron James And Russell Westbrook

Jordan was pretty hyped about the possibility of playing with superstars like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. He knows that he’ll get plenty of wide-open dunks with those two running the offense:

(Transcript via ClutchPoints)

“For me, it’s great. Those guys being able to have such speed and strength, being able to get downhill so quickly — it puts a lot of pressure on defenses. When you’re a big playing in that dunker area you find where you’ll be open — whether it’s a shovel pass, whether its a lob — and those guys are so great at finding the open man and making the defenses pay for coverages and schemes that they may come up with.

“I just need to be ready to catch a basketball or catch a lob or screen in for a shooter. But, when you have that many threats on one team, I think that it’s going to be very beneficial to us.”

There are still serious concerns regarding the Lakers’ ability to compete in the playoffs, not because of their talent but due to their age. Even so, this team looks like a clear-cut favorite, at least on paper.

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Then again, when it comes to the purple and gold, you know that they’re always trying to get even better. The Western Conference is a bloodbath and they want to end up on top and make it back to the NBA Finals.

That’s why, even after adding multiple newcomers, the Lakers are targeting two more veteran players to try and take some pressure off LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the aforementioned Russell Westbrook.

NBA Rumors: Lakers Targeting Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan If They’re Bought Out

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne, the Lakers would love to bring Rajon Rondo back if he’s bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies. He’s not expected to be on their roster by the start of the season, so there’s a strong chance we see him again in Los Angeles.

Moreover, the Lakers would also be interested in signing veteran big man DeAndre Jordan if the Brooklyn Nets feel like they have no use for him anymore. And even though he made it to the Nets by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s recommendation, this is still a business.

Needless to say, adding two players far beyond their prime won’t exactly silence the Lakers’ doubters. They believe that this team is just too old to stay healthy throughout the season and thrive in the playoffs.

Then again, we’re talking about players with deep playoff experience, and that always comes in handy. It’s still too early to tell, but we wouldn’t want to put our money against this Lakers team, even if they don’t add any of those two players to their roster.

Fast-forward to today and both are having a bit of a timeshare at the center position, but the rumors claim that Jordan wasn’t happy with his role as a reserve last season and that’s the reason why he’s the starter right now.

It’s not a secret that the reason why DeAndre Jordan signed with the Nets in the first place is that he’s close friends with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. In fact, they even took a paycut to be able to lure him in.

Steve Nash Knows There Could Be Drama Between DeAndre Jordan And Jarrett Allen

And, considering that Irving and Durant’s opinions have a lot of weight in the locker room – like it happened with Kenny Atkinson’s firing – new coach Steve Nash knows that he must find a way for both to coexist:

“A bit of everything. He definitely has that relationship with Ky and Kevin. He has that experience as the older player. Caris (LeVert) and JA also have good chemistry. So, it’s a bit of everything. It’s just not something I’m belaboring. Jarrett’s going to play a lot. I love him on the floor. I want to be very careful not to make it like a mini-drama because it’s not,” Nash told The New York Post.

“They both play. JA has been outstanding and will play plenty, if not the bulk of the minutes, but for right now, he’s just playing those minutes from the second unit. He closed the game against Atlanta (on Wednesday). I just don’t want it to become some sort of thing where we’re pitting our own guys against each other because I think the group has got a pretty good vibe right now,” he concluded.

Jarrett Allen is younger and has a higher upside than DeAndre Jordan right now. Also, he’s making the most of his minutes right now with averages of 9.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game on 63% shooting and 22.9 minutes per game.

DeAndre Jordan, on the other hand, is averaging roughly 4.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 19.0 minutesper game and has looked far from the top-notch rim protector he was in his prime.