DeAndre Jordan has been a huge part of why the Los Angeles Clippers are still holding on the fifth seed in the murderously competitive Western Conference despite playing for an extended period without injured All-Star forward Blake Griffin. And for all his coach's praise of his play, comparing him once to Bill Russell, and another time to Dennis Rodman, Doc Rivers now claims that his center is "clearly the Defensive Player of the Year."

"If anybody else gets that award, we need to have an investigation," the Los Angeles Clippers' coach was quoted saying.

"What he's doing offensively if he was doing that offensively, he would be recognized as the MVP or one of them, but because it's defense, no one notices."

Jordan is averaging 11.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game this season.

Following a game against the Chicago Bulls, Clippers' superstar point guard Chris Paul had this to say about Jordan, "You look at the stat sheet and you don't see how many times Aaron Brooks didn't drive because D.J. was there or how many shots where guys went up and they passed it. That doesn't show up on the stat sheet."

Jesus Gomez of SB Nation, doesn't quite agree.

In a recent article, Gomez points out that while the eye test might suggest that Jordan is adept at defending the pick and roll, he is ranked just 14th among 52 big men who have defended at least 200 possessions, citing stats from Synergy Sports.

Jordan also ranks 27th among 39 players who have defended at least 50 possessions guarding the roll man on those plays, and 22nd among 41 players who have defended a minimum of 100 post up plays.

The article likewise points out that real-plus minus, which adjusts for quality of opponents, places Jordan as the 24th best center in the NBA, pointing out Ian Mahinmi, Robert Sacre, the Plumlee brothers, and Joel Anthony, as those ranked higher than Jordan.