After an illustrious 20-year career, former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford calls it quits.
Crawford posted a tweet on Monday (the day after his birthday) where he made the announcement.
“Goodbye to the game, all the spoils the adrenaline rush. Thank you basketball, I owe you everything.” The tweet read.
Crawford was the eighth pick of the 2000 draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers but was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a draft-day trade. He played four seasons with the Bulls, and during his last season, he averaged 17.3 points per game. This was a drastic improvement from his first season, where he averaged 4.6 points per game.
Crawford joined the New York Knicks in 2004, where he went on to average a career-best 20.6 per game in the 2007-08 season. The Knicks traded Crawford to the Golden State Warriors in 2008-2009, where he played for a season.
After his time with the Warriors, Crawford went on to play for teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Clippers and more. His last stop was the Brooklyn Nets when they needed a substitute player during the NBA’s “bubble” during the 2019-20 season. He played one game with the Nets, where he scored five points. That game made him the 29th player to play at the age of 40 and the eighth player to play at least 20 NBA seasons.
Throughout his career, Crawford had impressive accolades. He is a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, winning in 2010, 2014 and 2016. He is also the second player in NBA history to have scored 10,000+ career points off the bench. Crawford (known for scoring) is also the oldest player to score 50+ points in an NBA game.
Crawford had an excellent career, and in a way, he was often overlooked. But as an incredible scorer and a mentor to young players like Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. and San Antonio Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, Crawford should be remembered for his time in the league. Happy retirement, Jamal Crawford!