LOS ANGELES – Doc Rivers and the L.A. Clippers welcomed DeAndre Jordan back inside the halls of Staples Center on Thursday night, and Rivers didn't hide his pre-game feelings regarding his former All-Star center.

“First time here and you know, for him, I hope he gets a grand applause, I mean I think when you think D.J., more than anybody, you think L.A. Clipper. Maybe the first, when you think about it. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of history and most of our history is current when you think about it.

“When I got here, I’ve told this story the first day I walked in, I wanted to retire a jersey and trying to come up with a name was hard. We had to go back to Randy Smith and guys like that, who probably should be, but other than that I think D.J. in my opinion would be the first to qualify when he’s done, for sure.”

DeAndre Jordan amassed a number of team records during his franchise-record 10 years with the Clippers. Most notably, Jordan leads the Clippers in all-time total games played (750), total rebounds (7,988), total blocked shots (1,277), and field goal percentage (67.3 percent), among other stats.

Jordan was also a part of the most successful run in franchise history, winning 50+ games for five straight seasons, which all included playoff appearances. Clippers fans showed their love and respect for one of the best in team history during the first timeout, giving him a standing ovation following the tribute video.

After the game, Jordan appreciated the comments made by Rivers, a guy he developed into an All-Star under and one he calls ‘his favorite.'

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“That’s humbling,” Jordan told ClutchPoints after the game. “It’s no secret that Doc is my favorite. I love Doc, he’s a big reason for a lot of the success I’ve had in this league and I appreciate him a lot. For him to say something like that, that’s pretty cool.”

Who knows if Jordan's career will lead him back to Los Angeles and the Clippers one day? One thing we can be certain of is that Jordan's name and jersey will be up for retirement consideration once he's officially called it a career.