DeAndre Jordan on Nikola Jokic: 'Super present in life and loves basketball, but basketball isn't him'

DeAndre Jordan: “Sometimes, when he wants to avoid stuff, he acts like he doesn’t speak English, which is funny. He’ll say, ‘Brother, I don’t… sorry,’ and I’m like, ‘You know what I’m talking about.’ But it’s just funny. He’s one of the greatest teammates I’ve ever had, and he’s a great guy. He’s super selfless and obviously a monster, so it’s cool.” -via YouTube / June 26, 2024

DeAndre Jordan: “Nikola has also enhanced my Serbian folk music knowledge. He’ll be like, ‘DJ, download this song, this is a good song,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not listening to that.’ Then he plays it, and I’m like, ‘Alright, this is kind of nice.’ I’ve had Rakia before. I got a bottle at the house with a pear in it. You have a lot of that, and it’s good. I ain’t going to lie, Rakia is really good. If anybody hasn’t had Rakia, you got to have Rakia. Shout out Serbia.” -via YouTube / June 26, 2024

“DJ, y’all going to team dinner?” Gordon asked Nuggets veteran DeAndre Jordan from across the locker room after their 112-97 win in Game 5 at Ball Arena on Tuesday night that gave them three straight wins and the 3-2 series edge. Jordan, the resident organizer of the players-only affair that might go down in team lore if Denver survives this series, wouldn’t budge on his superstitious stance. “Yeah — not you though,” Jordan answered back at Gordon. “We’ll see you next round (of the playoffs). Sorry, dawg. We’ll bring you some takeout though.” -via New York Times / May 16, 2024

Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says he’s already been in touch with Anthony Davis about ideas for next season. One he shared with us is “the idea of him as a hub” — he didn’t say his name, but think of how Denver runs things through Nikola Jokic -via Twitter @mcten / June 24, 2024