Clippers' Jordan 'over it' after not winning NBA's Defensive POY

Published Apr. 24, 2015 3:31 p.m. ET

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DeAndre Jordan has moved on from finishing third in the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award voting.

Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard won the award, and Golden State's Draymond Green finished second.

"I really don't care about any of that, anyway, to be honest," Jordan said before the Clippers shootaround at AT&T Center on Friday. "I just care about us winning a championship here. That's the only thing I can kind of control. I have a part in controlling that."

The Clippers and Spurs first-round Western Conference playoff series is tied at 1, and Game 3 is tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Prime Ticket in San Antonio. 

Jordan will have his work cut out for him again defending Tim Duncan, who was almost unstoppable with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block as the Spurs won Game 2 in overtime -- 111-107 -- in Los Angeles. He also played with five fouls.

Leonard will be presented with the award before tonight's game. Jordan had no problem with the 23-year-old rising star winning the honor. 

"I finished third last year. It's cool. I guess I need to improve a lot," Jordan said. "I'm happy for Kawhi. It's been a great year for him, the defending champions. He's a great defender. There's a lot of guys who can say they deserve the award. Draymond Green is another guy. I'm really happy for Kawhi. You can't take anything from him. He's a great defender."

Jordan had a legitimate case to win last year as well, and Doc Rivers and the Clippers were on the campaign trail this season trying to help Jordan win. But, it didn't happen. 

"I'm not really thinking about it anymore," Jordan said. "At this point, I'm kind of over it. I can't control that. I can only control how hard I play. I'm happy. I've accepted a lot of things ... If I have the respect of my coaches, my peers around the league and other coaches around the league, that's all that really matters."

And Jordan, who will be a free agent this offseason and has said it will be fun to test the open market, undoubtedly will earn a max contract, whether with the Clippers or another team, another sign of respect for his game and defensive prowess.

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