NBA Schedule 2018-19: When does DeAndre Jordan play the Clippers?

After a close call 3 years ago, DeAndre Jordan decided to return to the Clippers rather than sign with Dallas. Now, he’s in Dallas and will be playing against the Clippers for the first time in his career.

In the summer of 2015, DeAndre Jordan came extremely close to signing with the Dallas Mavericks, coming to a verbal agreement with the team before changing his mind at the last minute and staying with the Clippers.

The Lob City Clippers, led by Jordan alongside Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, looked like potential title contenders, but due to injuries and bad luck, lost in the first round the next two years.

Last season, the team was dismantled as Paul and Griffin were traded to the Rockets and Pistons respectively, leaving Jordan as the last All-Star standing from those teams.

While the Clippers still possess an interesting mix of young players, Jordan opted to sign with the Mavericks after all, joining a team just as young, but less ready to be immediately competitive.

Jordan will get his first look at his former team when the Clippers visit Dallas on Dec. 2 and he returns to Staples Center as a visitor against the Clippers for the first time on Dec. 20.

The teams will meet two other times in 2018-19, with the Clippers going to Dallas on Jan. 22 and the Mavericks making the return trip to L.A. on Feb. 25.

The most promising and intriguing player on either team is likely Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic, who many believed was the best prospect in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The Clippers, with their two lottery picks, selected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson. Alongside them will be Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari and Lou Williams among several other solid players.

While the Clippers don’t project to be a playoff team this year in the loaded Western Conference, they will still be a good team, as well as an interesting one as they try to make sense of several disparate parts.

These games between the Mavericks and Clippers are more compelling for those looking to the future than those who are concerned with who is likely to win the championship this year as both teams will likely fail to make the playoffs.

But it will be interesting to watch Jordan play his former team and to watch these two young teams try to work out their respective identities.