One of the best defenders in the National Basketball Association has coronavirus. On Monday, Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan tested positive for the disease. The 31-year-old from Houston, Texas has also stated that he will not join the Nets when the NBA returns to play at the end of the month in Orlando. In addition to Jordan, Nets’ guard Spencer Dinwiddie of Los Angeles, California, has tested positive for coronavirus, but has not determined yet if he will play for the Nets when the season resumes.
Jordan was in his first year with the Nets after playing 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers from 2008 to 2018, and then sharing his time with the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks in 2018-19. This season, Jordan averaged 10 rebounds per game. It is the ninth straight year that he has been in double digits in rebounds. Jordan averaged an NBA-high 13.6 rebounds per game with the Nets in 2013-14 and then led the NBA again in rebounds per game in 2014-15 with 15.
Jordan is also known for his consistent shooting in the paint. He led the NBA for five straight years in field goal percentage from 2013 to 2017. However, a reason why Jordan has only been an NBA All-Star once is probably because he is a terrible free throw shooter. Jordan’s career free throw percentage is a horrendous .474. In 2019-20, Jordan averaged 8.3 points per game, had a field goal percentage of .666, and a free throw percentage of .680.
Dinwiddie was having a career season for Brooklyn. He is averaging 20.6 points per game, 6.8 assists per game, and 3.5 rebounds per game, all career highs. Dinwiddie also has a .415 field goal percentage, .308 three-point percentage, and .778 free throw percentage.
One other Nets player has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. Kevin Durant of Washington, D.C. tested positive on March 17. Meanwhile, Nets forward Wilson Chandler announced he will not play with Brooklyn when the NBA restarts. The Nets meanwhile are seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30 wins and 34 losses.
