Hyland DeAndre Jordan Jr. (born July 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies.
Jordan was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft with the 35th overall pick. He spent ten seasons with the Clippers before signing with the Dallas Mavericks in free agency in July 2018. He was traded to the New York Knicks in January 2019 and joined the Brooklyn Nets in July of the same year. He was dealt to the Detroit Pistons in September 2021 and reached a contract buyout agreement before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in the same month. He was waived by the Lakers in March 2022 and subsequently joined the Philadelphia 76ers. He then signed with the Denver Nuggets in July 2022, with whom he won his first NBA championship in 2023.
Jordan is a three-time All-NBA and two-time NBA All-Defensive Team member, and has twice led the NBA in rebounding. In 2017, he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. As of 2025, Jordan holds the NBA record for highest career regular season and postseason field goal percentage, at 67.4% and 67.0%, respectively. He is the Clippers' franchise leader in games played, rebounds, and blocks. He also won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. Olympic team.
Jordan attended Episcopal High School through his junior year. Jordan averaged 15.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks as a sophomore; and 16.5 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 7.0 blocks as a junior. Jordan transferred to Christian Life Center Academy for his senior year, where he averaged 26.1 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 8.1 blocks per game. He was a third-team Parade All-American, named to the first-team All-Greater Houston squad by the Houston Chronicle and was a two-time all-state selection. At Christian Life Center, Jordan posted a career-high 37 points in a game and also set the school record for most blocks in a game with 20.
Coming out of high school, Jordan was rated as the number-eight overall prospect, the number-two center in the country, and the number-one prep player in Texas by Rivals.com. Jordan was recruited by Florida, Florida State, Indiana, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Kentucky, and others.
In the summer of 2007, Jordan played for Team USA at the 2007 Under-19 World Championships in Serbia. Jordan played only nine minutes per game. The team finished second with an 8–1 record.
Before Jordan arrived at Texas A&M University in College Station, Aggies head basketball coach Billy Gillispie left the school to take the head coaching position at Kentucky. Jordan chose to honor his commitment to the university.
Jordan started 21 of 35 games in his freshman season at Texas A&M. He averaged 20 minutes and 1.3 blocks per game. In those games, he shot a team-high of 61.7 percent in field goals, but a team-low of 43.7 percent in free throws. Most of his field goals, however, were within a few feet from the basket. He finished the season averaging 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. He made the Big 12 All-Rookie Team for his efforts. After the season, he declared for the 2008 NBA draft.
Prior to the draft, draftexpress.com, a third-party NBA draft website, listed Jordan's strengths and weaknesses. A few strengths include "incredible physical specimen", "defensive potential", "incredible upside", and "freakish athlete". Some weaknesses include "not productive", "poor fundamentals", "mediocre footwork", and "high bust potential". The website also projected him to be picked at No. 16 by the Philadelphia 76ers. Other mock drafts had him projected to be picked at No. 10 by the New Jersey Nets or at No. 11 by the Indiana Pacers due to his attractive ability to run the floor. ESPN's Chad Ford had him going to the Memphis Grizzlies at pick No. 28 in the first round.
Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2018)
Jordan was selected with the 35th overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2008 NBA draft. Due to injuries among the Clippers low-post players, Jordan was pushed into the starting lineup for the January 19, 2009 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his first game as a starter, he recorded 8 points, 6 blocks and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of play. In the January 21, 2009 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he played 43 minutes and recorded a career-high 23 points. This included 10 dunks, which had only been accomplished by two others players (Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal) over the past 10 NBA seasons.
On December 11, 2011, Jordan signed an offer sheet with the Golden State Warriors reportedly worth $43 million over four years. However, one day later, the Clippers matched the offer to keep him.
For the 2011–12 season, Jordan changed his jersey number from 9 to 6. On December 25, 2011, Jordan recorded a career-high eight blocks against the Golden State Warriors in an opening day 105–86 victory.
During the 2012–13 season, Jordan's free-throw percentage dropped from 52.5% to 38.6%, one of his career worsts. However, he led the league in field-goal percentage, shooting 64.3%. This was his first season playing all 82 games.
All-NBA and All-Defensive honors (2013–2016)
In 2013, Jordan was selected to Team USA's minicamp in Las Vegas. On November 29, 2013, Jordan recorded a career-high nine blocks in the 104–98 victory against the Sacramento Kings. On January 3, 2014, Jordan scored a career-high 25 points in a 119–112 victory against the Dallas Mavericks. With 13.6 rebounds per game, he was the league's rebounding leader for the 2013–14 season.
On April 29, 2014, Jordan became the first NBA player with at least 25 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocked shots in a playoff game since Tim Duncan in 2008.
On February 9, 2015, Jordan recorded 22 points and a career-high 27 rebounds in the 115–98 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On March 13, in a 99–129 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Jordan made his first career three-pointer early in the first quarter. On May 21, Jordan was named to the All-NBA third team. Jordan became the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 10 points, 15 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks during the regular season. The feat had last been accomplished by Moses Malone during the 1982–83 season.