DeAndre Jordan recalls first time playing against Kobe Bryant

Brooklyn Nets center Deandre Jordan recalled his first game against the Los Angeles Lakers in which he dunked 10 times — and Kobe Bryant took notice.

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Drafted to the Clippers in 2008, DeAndre Jordan saw firsthand how Kobe Bryant impacted the Staples Center and the city of Los Angeles as a whole.

Bryant was coming off his MVP season. The Lakers had just begun their stretch of three straight NBA Finals appearances, of which they would win two. It was still pre-Lob City time for the Clippers; as much as ever, LA was a Lakers town through and through.

In the second start of Jordan’s career, he faced off against Bryant and the Lakers.

“As a kid, you grow up being like, ‘Damn,’ you know, ‘I want to play against that guy,’ and to have the opportunity was great,” Jordan told reporters after practice on Tuesday.

The rookie had been seldom-used up to that point, inactive or receiving a DNP in 21 of the 40 games leading up to this game. He was inactive for the first two matchups of the Hallway Series, but when Clippers starting center Marcus Camby suffered an injury, Jordan was given the start in his first appearance against the Lakers.

“I didn’t really play a lot, but we played against the Lakers and I had a pretty good game,” Jordan said with a little laugh. “I dunked a lot.”

That he did. Jordan had 10 dunks in that January game, posting 23 points with 12 rebounds — six offensive — going 11-for-12 from the field in 43 minutes of play.

“He came over to me after the game, he was like, ‘Hey young fella, you gonna be a hell of a player, keep working. I love what you’re doing,'” Jordan recalled. “I told my brothers, I’m like ‘Man, Kobe talked to me after the game!’ That was big for me.”

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Jordan spent 10 seasons with the Clippers, eight of which came while Bryant was in the locker room across the stadium. The two teams never matched up in the playoffs, but there were plenty of regular-season battles between the teams.

“The talks that he would have with you, that you never will forget that stuff, regardless of the situation that is at hand now,” Jordan said. “That stuff, you remember for the rest of your life.”

As the world mourns Bryant, Jordan understands in the fullest.

“He’s everybody’s favorite player,” Jordan said. “…I feel like the world, at this point, he was … very iconic, man, and touched so many people, not even basketball, just as a person.”