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Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford Broken Play 2023.png
Crawford in 2023
Personal information
Born (1980-03-20) March 20, 1980 (age 45)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
High school Rainier Beach (Seattle, Washington)
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College Michigan (1999–2000)
NBA Draft 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Pro career 2000–2020
Career history
2000–2004 Chicago Bulls
2004–2008 New York Knicks
2008–2009 Golden State Warriors
2009–2011 Atlanta Hawks
2011–2012 Portland Trail Blazers
2012–2017 Los Angeles Clippers
2017–2018 Minnesota Timberwolves
2018–2019 Phoenix Suns
2020 Brooklyn Nets
Career highlights and awards
  • 3× NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2010, 2014, 2016)
  • Second-team Parade All-American (1999)
Career statistics
Points 19,419 (14.6 ppg)
Rebounds 2,948 (2.2 rpg)
Assists 4,541 (3.4 apg)

Aaron Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2000 to 2020. People called him "J-Crossover" because he was amazing at handling the ball. Many think he was one of the best ball handlers ever in the NBA.

Crawford won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award three times. This is a record he shares with another great player, Lou Williams. He was also known for making many "four-point plays" in his career. On April 9, 2019, he made history by scoring over 50 points in an NBA game. He was the oldest player to do this and the first to score 50+ points for four different teams. His 51 points in that game were also the most ever scored by a player who started the game on the bench.

Jamal Crawford is 29th in NBA history for having four games where he scored 50 or more points. He is tied with legends like George Mikan and Larry Bird. He also ranks 12th all-time for making three-point field goals, with 2,221. He is only the second player in NBA history to score over 10,000 points while coming off the bench. After retiring from playing, Crawford started working as a basketball commentator.

High School Basketball Star

Jamal Crawford grew up in South Seattle. He played basketball for Rainier Beach High School. This school has produced many other NBA and college players. Some famous names include Doug Christie, Nate Robinson, and Dejounte Murray.

In 1998, Jamal led his team, the Vikings, to win the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) State Championship. To honor his amazing impact, Rainier Beach High retired his number 23 jersey in 2001. In 2018, they also welcomed him into their Hall of Fame.

College Days at Michigan

Jamal earned a scholarship to the University of Michigan. He decided to play college basketball for the Wolverines. His coach was Brian Ellerbe.

At the start of the 1999–00 season, Jamal faced a challenge. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) suspended him for six games. They said his living situation in high school broke their rules about being an amateur player. The university disagreed, but the decision stood. After his suspension, Crawford joined the starting lineup. He averaged 16.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game that season. After his first year, he decided to enter the 2000 NBA draft.

Professional NBA Career

Chicago Bulls (2000–2004)

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked Crawford 8th in the 2000 NBA draft. But on draft day, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls. In his first year, 2000–01, he struggled with his shooting. He made only 35.2 percent of his shots. Still, he scored double-digits in 10 games. He averaged 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.

In his second season, 2001–02, injuries limited him to 23 games. But he improved his stats. He averaged 9.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He also shot much better from behind the arc.

By his third year, 2002–03, Crawford became a key player for the Bulls. His averages improved to 10.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1 steal. The Bulls did not make the playoffs that year.

His fourth season, 2003–04, was his last with Chicago. He became the starting shooting guard. He averaged 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.4 steals. On April 11, 2004, he scored 50 points against the Toronto Raptors. He made 6 three-pointers and scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone. Before the next season, he was traded to the New York Knicks.

New York Knicks (2004–2008)

CrawfordNYK
Crawford playing for the New York Knicks

Crawford joined the New York Knicks, another team that was rebuilding. In his first year, 2004–05, he played 70 games and started 67 of them. He averaged 17.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals. He scored over 20 points in many games. He even had 41 points in a win against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Knicks did not make the playoffs.

In his second year in New York, 2005–06, he took on a new role as a sixth man. This meant he came off the bench instead of starting. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. The Knicks finished with a 23–59 record and missed the playoffs.

For the 2006–07 season, the Knicks changed coaches again. Crawford played 59 games due to an ACL injury. He still averaged 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.

In 2007–08, he was back in the starting lineup for 80 games. He averaged 20.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5 assists. On January 26, 2007, he had a career-high 52 points. He made 16 shots in a row during that game. He also made 8 three-pointers, just one short of the team record. In 2008–09, he played only 11 games for the Knicks before being traded to the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State Warriors (2008–2009)

Jamal Crawford at Suns at Warriors 3-15-09 1
Crawford with the Warriors

Crawford was a great fit for the Golden State Warriors' fast-paced offense. He was good at three-point shooting, ball-handling, and seeing the court. He played 54 games for the Warriors in 2008–09 and started every one. He averaged almost 20 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.5 rebounds.

On December 20, 2008, Crawford scored 50 points in a win against the Charlotte Bobcats. This made him only the fourth player in NBA history to score 50+ points with three different teams. At the end of the season, the Atlanta Hawks traded for Crawford.

Atlanta Hawks (2009–2011)

Crawford joined the Atlanta Hawks for the 2009–10 season. On January 15, he made a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer against the Phoenix Suns. On February 3, 2010, he set an NBA record for the most career four-point plays. He passed Reggie Miller for this record.

Coming off the bench, he averaged 18 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Crawford won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2010. The Hawks made the playoffs, which was Crawford's first time in the postseason. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games. Crawford led all scorers in the final game with 22 points. However, they were then swept by the Orlando Magic.

Jamal Crawford 2011
Crawford in 2011

In the 2010–11 season, Crawford continued to play well off the bench. He averaged 14.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. He was again considered for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The Hawks made the playoffs as the 5th seed. They beat the Orlando Magic in a close series. Crawford made a game-winning three-pointer in Game 3. The Hawks then lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

Portland Trail Blazers (2011–2012)

Crawford signed with the Portland Trail Blazers on December 15, 2011. He averaged almost 14 points in 60 games. He also led the league in free throw percentage, making 92.7 percent of his free throws. This was a career high for him.

Los Angeles Clippers (2012–2017)

On July 11, 2012, Crawford signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jamal Crawford Trevor Ariza
Crawford being defended by Trevor Ariza

In the 2012–13 season, Crawford averaged 16.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. He finished second in voting for the 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. In the playoffs, the Clippers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies. Crawford averaged 10.8 points in those playoff games.

In the 2013–14 season, Crawford led all reserve players in scoring. He averaged 18.6 points per game, along with 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds. He came off the bench in 45 of the 69 games he played.

On May 8, 2014, Crawford won his second NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. He also helped the Clippers achieve their best record in team history (57–25).

On December 8, 2014, Crawford was ejected from a game for the first time in his 976-game career. This happened after he got a technical foul for talking to a referee.

During a win over the Phoenix Suns on November 2, 2015, Crawford passed 16,000 career points. On November 14, he scored 37 points in a win against the Detroit Pistons. On January 10, 2016, he made his 46th career four-point play. On April 8, 2016, he made a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left to win a game against the Utah Jazz. He finished that game with 30 points.

On April 19, 2016, he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award for the third time. At 36 years old, he broke his own record as the oldest player to win the award.

Crawford re-signed with the Clippers on July 8, 2016. On December 2, 2016, he passed Vince Carter for 6th place on the NBA's all-time list for made three-pointers. On February 6, 2017, he became the sixth NBA player to reach 2,000 made three-pointers. He joined players like Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in this exclusive club. He also passed Eddie Johnson for second place in career NBA bench scoring.

On July 6, 2017, the Clippers traded Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks then waived him the next day.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2017–2018)

On July 19, 2017, Crawford signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In his first game for the Timberwolves on October 18, 2017, he scored 10 points. Two days later, he scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter to help his team win. On December 18, 2017, he scored a season-high 23 points in just 23 minutes. On March 30, 2018, he scored 24 points in a close win. In June 2018, Crawford won the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. This award recognizes the best teammate in the NBA.

Phoenix Suns (2018–2019)

Crawford signed with the Phoenix Suns on October 17, 2018. On December 17, he had a career-high 14 assists in a win against the New York Knicks. On January 6, 2019, he scored 16 points. This made him only the second NBA player to record over 11,000 career points as a reserve.

On April 9, 2019, in the last game of the season, Crawford made NBA history. He scored 51 points. At 39 years and 20 days old, he became the oldest player to score 50+ points in a game. He broke the record held by Michael Jordan. He also set the record for the most points scored by a player not in the starting lineup. He became the only player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game with four different teams.

Brooklyn Nets (2020)

On July 9, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets signed Crawford for the rest of the 2019–20 season. This happened because some Nets players chose not to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played his first game for the Nets on August 4, 2020. At 40 years and 137 days old, he became the oldest active player in the NBA at that time. He also became the oldest Nets player to ever play in a game.

He became the eighth player in NBA history to play in 20 different seasons. He joined legends like Vince Carter and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He scored five points and had three assists in five minutes before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. This was his only game for the Nets.

His one game for the Nets was his final NBA game. Jamal Crawford officially announced his retirement from the league on March 21, 2022.

Broadcasting Career

After his playing career, Crawford started working in broadcasting. In November 2021, he began doing game broadcasts for NBA League Pass. He also became a regular analyst for The NBA on TNT starting in the 2022-23 season. He left those roles after the 2023–24 season.

Crawford signed with MSG Network to cover the New York Knicks starting with the 2024–25 NBA season. He is expected to join NBA on NBC as a lead game analyst starting in the 2025–26 NBA season.

Personal Life

Jamal Crawford married his long-time girlfriend, Tori Lucas, on August 23, 2014. Many of his Clippers teammates and other NBA players attended his wedding.

Crawford is a big part of the Seattle basketball community. He organizes secret workouts for elite players in the city. He also helps local players who want to become professionals through "The Crawsover" league. This summer league is held at Seattle Pacific University. It is one of the most respected leagues in the country, and admission is free. NBA All-Stars like Chris Paul and Kevin Durant have played in it before.

Career Statistics

NBA

Regular Season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 Chicago 61 8 17.2 .352 .350 .794 1.5 2.3 .7 .2 4.6
2001–02 Chicago 23 6 20.9 .476 .448 .769 1.5 2.4 .8 .2 9.3
2002–03 Chicago 80 31 24.9 .413 .355 .806 2.3 4.2 1.0 .3 10.7
2003–04 Chicago 80 73 35.1 .386 .317 .833 3.5 5.1 1.4 .4 17.3
2004–05 New York 70 67 38.4 .398 .361 .843 2.9 4.3 1.3 .3 17.7
2005–06 New York 79 27 32.3 .416 .345 .826 3.1 3.8 1.1 .2 14.3
2006–07 New York 59 36 37.3 .400 .320 .838 3.2 4.4 1.0 .1 17.6
2007–08 New York 80 80 39.9 .410 .356 .864 2.6 5.0 1.0 .2 20.6
2008–09 New York 11 11 35.6 .432 .455 .761 1.5 4.4 .8 .0 19.6
Golden State 54 54 38.6 .406 .338 .889 3.3 4.4 .9 .2 19.7
2009–10 Atlanta 79 0 31.1 .449 .382 .857 2.5 3.0 .8 .2 18.0
2010–11 Atlanta 76 0 31.1 .421 .341 .854 1.7 3.2 .8 .2 14.2
2011–12 Portland 60 6 26.9 .384 .308 .927* 2.0 3.2 .9 .2 13.9
2012–13 L.A. Clippers 76 0 29.3 .438 .376 .871 1.7 2.5 1.0 .2 16.5
2013–14 L.A. Clippers 69 24 30.3 .416 .361 .866 2.3 3.2 .9 .2 18.6
2014–15 L.A. Clippers 64 4 26.6 .396 .327 .901 1.9 2.5 .9 .2 15.8
2015–16 L.A. Clippers 79 5 26.9 .404 .340 .904 1.8 2.3 .7 .2 14.2
2016–17 L.A. Clippers 82* 1 26.3 .413 .360 .857 1.6 2.6 .7 .2 12.3
2017–18 Minnesota 80 0 20.7 .415 .331 .903 1.2 2.3 .5 .1 10.3
2018–19 Phoenix 64 0 18.9 .397 .332 .845 1.3 3.6 .5 .2 7.9
2019–20 Brooklyn 1 0 6.0 .500 .500 .000 0.0 3.0 .0 .0 5.0
Career 1,327 433 29.4 .410 .348 .862 2.2 3.4 .9 .2 14.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Atlanta 11 0 31.9 .364 .360 .845 2.7 2.7 .8 .1 16.3
2011 Atlanta 12 0 29.8 .394 .350 .824 1.3 2.5 .8 .3 15.4
2013 L.A. Clippers 6 0 26.8 .387 .273 1.000 2.0 1.7 .5 .2 10.8
2014 L.A. Clippers 13 0 24.1 .398 .342 .886 1.5 2.0 .9 .2 15.5
2015 L.A. Clippers 14 0 27.1 .360 .243 .867 2.1 1.9 .9 .2 12.7
2016 L.A. Clippers 6 1 33.2 .379 .190 .880 2.2 2.2 1.7 .0 17.3
2017 L.A. Clippers 7 0 28.0 .422 .240 1.000 1.3 1.9 .6 .1 12.6
2018 Minnesota 5 0 24.6 .447 .412 .769 2.6 2.4 1.0 .0 11.8
Career 74 1 28.1 .386 .307 .865 1.9 2.2 .9 .2 14.3

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Michigan 17 15 33.9 .412 .327 .784 2.8 4.5 1.1 0.9 16.6

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jamal Crawford para niños

  • List of NBA career 3-point scoring leaders
  • List of NBA career free throw percentage leaders
  • List of NBA career games played leaders
  • List of NBA annual free throw percentage leaders
  • List of oldest and youngest NBA players
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