Among the players who had to work hard to find a team over the off-season was DeAndre Jordan. He ultimately landed a spot with the New Orleans Pelicans, but his highlight moment against the mighty Boston Celtics was not on anyone’s bingo card, least of all Joe Mazzulla’s.
Advertisement
The Pelicans were battered by the Celtics, who finally looked like they’re finding their grove after losing the first three games of the season. They won 122-92. But Jordan, a former All-Star, made a joke of the Celtics defense not once, but twice.
Mazzulla was not a happy man, and during broadcast, the commentators revealed a scathing remark made by the former Championship-winning coach on Jordan. Seemingly, he targeted the fact that Jordan was unemployed as little as a few days ago.
“Deandre Jordan was on the street 4 days ago, and you let him come in here and dunk on you,” Mazzulla had reportedly said.
It was a wild comment, one that was most likely meant to wake the Celtics team up. The first couple of quarters were close, and Mazzulla could not afford to have a 0-4 start to the campaign. And Jordan was finding it incredibly easy to play bullyball in the Celtics paint.
Deandre Jordan rebounds it on one end, slams it on the other pic.twitter.com/y9KRALELQ6
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) October 28, 2025
For his first poster, he rebounded the ball in his own basket and ran all the way down to take it back and slam it home. The second dunk, although not the result of a rebound, was equally impressive. Considering he’s 37, and was majorly overlooked by almost every team in the NBA, it was a statement from Jordan that he can still play a vital role in any team’s rotation.
DEANDRE JORDAN IS BACK
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 28, 2025
Jordan is also an ex-NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets. He wasn’t a starter, but was an important part in the team’s system. His presence on the Pelicans could be of huge help to talents like Derik Queen, a center who was drafted at #13 earlier this year.
Good on Jordan, and doesn’t matter if he was on the streets a week ago. He’s now a member of the Pelicans, and there are surely more dunks coming the way of rivals as the season progresses.
