Getty Jamal Crawford accepting wyman-Stokes Teammate Award
Jamal Crawford may not be playing on an NBA court right now, but he has the respect of his peers.
Naismith Hall of Famer, Nancy Lieberman shouted Crawford out via Twitter on Monday and told Crawford that he’s got next.
Hoops isn’t the only arena that Crawford is appreciated. New York City hip hop has love for the Seattle, Washington native.
Insert Jim Jones. I asked Jones why Jamal Crawford is still a free agent. Jones was quite honest.
“Why is JR Smith not playing,” Jones told Scoop B Radio.
“Why isn’t Swaggy P still playing? Why are a bunch of these young players that are healthy and want to play still not playing? They got the bag and the check, but there’s nothing like being on the court. Nothing like digging in, having a purpose, and playing on a team and having that comradery. There’s some players who can REALLY play. Jamal Crawford, hands down, is probably one of the illest players we’ve ever seen in the last decade. He’s a silent killer, whatever team you put him on, he’s putting up buckets. You can count on him making a bucket. If it’s crunch time, you’re gonna pass to Jamal. There’s not too many people that can stop him. That boy’s got something real REAL special.”
Jones is one of the original member of The Diplomats; also know as Dipset. Other notables from Dipset include Cam’ron, Hell Rell, Freekey Zeeky, Juelz Santana.
In 2006 Jones dropped his smash hit, We Fly High (Ballin), hs his most successful single to date, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first top ten single. The single also remains his most successful single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Tracks, peaking at #4 and #1, respectively, and has also ranked as #1 on the Hot RingMasters chart.
For those keeping score at home: Jones also appears in seasons 1 and 2 of the VH1 show Love & Hip Hop: New York.
Jamal Crawford’s best statistical season came during the 2007-08 NBA season as a member of the New York Knicks with a roster that included Crawford, Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph, David Lee, Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Channing Frye, Steve Francis and Trevor Ariza.
While in NYC, Crawford averaged 20 points and 5 assists in 80 games for the orange and blue.
“His body was just, his game was ahead of his body, if that makes sense; like the things he was trying to do out on the floor,” NBA Hall of Famer, Isiah Thomas told me.
Crawford was the eighth pick in the 2000 NBA Draft out of the University of Michigan. The former Wolverine has career averages of 14.6 points and 3.4 assists per contest in 19 years of service in the NBA.
Crawford last stepped foot on the court on April 9 as a member of the Phoenix Suns. In that game, In his last game on April 9, the 39-year old tallied 51 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the Suns’ 120-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers would be an ideal situation for Crawford.
As reported on Monday: The Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks inquired about Crawford’s services last week. Those talks have since stalled.
Jamal Crawford, 39, tells Scoop B Radio that he’s excited to get back to playing NBA basketball and that his age shouldn’t be factor in what he does on the basketball court. “I don’t take anything personal towards it,” he told me.
“Because you don’t usually see 39 year-olds perform at the level that I perform. So I don’t take that personally. I just look at it as an anomaly and for me I use it as fuel to just keep going.”