WSJ Reporter Explains DeAndre Jordan Emoji Story to His Mom -New Video

WSJ Reporter Explains DeAndre Jordan Emoji Story to His Mom -New Video

Wednesday will forever be known as the day of the NBA’s emoji wars.

One of the wildest afternoons in the league’s history started with an ESPN report that DeAndre Jordan, the free-agent center who agreed to leave the Los Angeles Clippers last week to sign with the Dallas Mavericks, was being lobbied by the Clippers to reconsider his decision and return to Los Angeles next season.

The news sent shockwaves through the NBA. But then things got truly weird. What happened next—a whirlwind of cryptic transportation emojis on Twitter from some of the most famous basketball players on the planet—would be almost impossible to explain to people who weren’t already following all the ins and outs of NBA free agency.

So I called my mom to try.


At first, though, she didn’t pick up the phone. It turns out she wasn’t refreshing Twitter for NBA news all afternoon. She was busy seeing a matinee production of “The King and I.” My mom called back when the show was over. While walking through the streets of New York, I tried to tell her what she had missed.