DeAndre Jordan reveals brand new details on the Clippers’ infamous tunnel incident

LA Clippers fans will never forget DeAndre Jordan and all he did for their franchise. Along with his then-teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, DJ helped put the Clippers on the map as a truly significant franchise and made them a top contender in the Western Conference in the 2010s.

DeAndre is the Clippers’ all-time best player in terms of games played, offensive and defensive rebounds, blocks, shooting percentage, and many other statistical categories in the record books, cementing his reputation as one of the top five players in franchise history.

That makes his appearance on Monday’s episode of Podcast P with Paul George all the more interesting. The former Clipper legend joined a current (but perhaps soon-to-be former) Clipper and the two had several interesting conversations about their careers, life experiences, and of course, their time playing for the Clippers.

When discussing some of the most memorable moments from DeAndre’s time in Los Angeles, the infamous game between the Rockets and Clippers in January 2018 came up. Since the public still knows a little about that night, Jordan was asked to describe what really happened from the players’ perspective.

What everyone knows is that this game was Chris Paul’s first game at the then-Staples Center since leaving town to join the Houston Rockets. There was a competitive atmosphere from the start, but things heated up towards the end of the fourth quarter as physical play on the Rockets’ part turned to resentment.

While explaining how some guys started arguing after the game, DeAndre turns to Paul George to describe exactly what happened after the final siren sounded. “You know how the hallway is, on the guest side. If you go through the back, you come into the Clippers’ locker room,” Jordan said. “So, I’m sitting at my locker … and then all of a sudden I see my buddy from the Rockets here and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? You can’t get in here, get out of here.'”

DeAndre explains how the unnamed Rockets player refused to leave. “He said, ‘No, I’m looking for somebody… I’m looking for that son of a bitch out there.’ And I said, ‘Nah, buddy, you gotta get out of here’… When I pushed him out into the hallway, I saw the whole Rockets team.”

Jordan said all the Rockets players claimed they wanted to “talk” to a Clippers player in the locker room, which they wouldn’t allow. But at the end of the day, DeAndre realized that a lot of what Houston did was probably just for show. “I don’t think anyone in the league wants to fight,” he said. “Security came in and separated everything, and after that it was dead. But it was pretty lively.”

Those who were there at the time will remember how funny and bizarre this scenario was to outsiders. Fans weren’t sure who had done what and what exactly had happened. The new details Jordan provided certainly give a little more insight into one of the most famous stories in recent Clippers history.