Jamal Crawford, a three-time winner of NBA Sixth Man of the Year, played 20 professional seasons before officially announcing his retirement.
During a recent segment on his show, Jalen Rose argued that Crawford deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Rose and former NBA player Matt Barnes both included Crawford as one of the top 5 ball-handlers of all time.
Crawford recently made headlines for his wildly popular Pro-Am league, the CrawsOver. Several notable NBA players, including rookies Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren, showed up to play in Seattle. Atlanta’s Trae Young and Dejounte Murray (who had this ridiculous highlight) also participated.
During a recent conversation with For The Win, Crawford discussed why his Pro-Am league is so important to him.
He also touched on predictions for the future of basketball in Seattle, which NBA players are carrying on his legacy, what he has learned while coaching his son’s AAU team, and why he highly recommends wearing Move Insoles.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What was the impact of having so many NBA stars show up to your ProAm league?
What a weekend for @thecrawsover , but what a weekend for the kids who got to see their heroes for the first time in person. Memories and moments. That’s what it’s really all about. Seattle, Thank YOU! 🙏🏾
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) August 1, 2022
Crawford: I grew up in the ProAm. I was one of only two high school kids playing at the time. I was sixteen years old playing against guys like Damon Stoudamire and Jerome Kersey and Cliff Robinson and I had some success. That showed me I could make it because I was holding my own. That made me lock in on my dream even more. I took over the ProAm program from Doug Christie in 2005. Three years later, the Sonics were gone. I understood my responsibility was to hold the NBA and pro basketball down in this state.
Trae Young and Blake Griffin and Chris Paul came to ProAm. A lot of these kids have only seen them on TV or in video games. Anybody that knows me knows I hate asking anybody for anything. But I’ll ask the kids who they want to see and I’ll try to go get that person. I’ll ask the pros because it means more than just playing in a pick-up game or a scrimmage game. It gives these kids hope. If they can see you in person for free, that’s what it’s all about.
What’s next for basketball in Seattle? You can clearly see the hunger there.
"It would absolutely mean more to me for the Sonics to come back" @JCrossover would choose the return of the SuperSonics to Seattle over entrance into the Hall-of-Fame
💚💛💚💛 pic.twitter.com/5aJdVx6iwD
— Seattle Supersonics (@SeattleSonics) August 4, 2022
Crawford: Over the last 10 or 15 years, the rest of the country is starting to take notice. But the next generation is coming up and we have to push that generation. On a wider scale, hopefully, we get the Sonics back. As a kid, I actually worked in Key Arena, which is now Climate Pledge Arena. I would bring up food from the basement to the concession stand. I would make the 10-minute trip a 30-minute trip because I was watching Sonics games. It fueled the dream of being on that court. The kids in this generation don’t have that. That’s why the ProAm is so important and why getting the Sonics back is so important. I want them to connect to that and cultivate their dreams.
Do you have any predictions for what the timeline might look like?
Crawford: You know what, fifteen years ago, I said five years. So my predictions aren’t spot on. But if you had to hold me down, I would say in the next three to four years. I have a really good feeling we’ll have the Sonics back.
What did it mean to have a No. 1 overall pick come from Seattle, Washington?
History. @JCrossover @thecrawsover
50 balls for @Pp_doesit and @Jmcdaniels7 and 34/14/8 for @ChetHolmgren 💨 pic.twitter.com/4wOur9iZ8n
— SHOWTIME Basketball (@shobasketball) July 30, 2022
Crawford: It means everything to Seattle, to be honest with you. Twenty-five years ago, we were sending more guys to college for football than basketball. So our rise has really started so recently. So we saw someone who played AAU since third grade for Seattle Rotary, which is right in the heart of the city, and stuck with the same program all the way through. Then he was able to become the No. 1 overall pick.
That resonates with adults but it resonates with kids, too. He’s the guy my son is looking up to and the younger generations are looking up to. They’ll be like, “That’s Paolo! I remember when he was a freshman in high school.” They’ve held on to that and to see him go to Duke and play for the legendary Coach K and then be the No. 1 overall pick, and do it from the same streets that we walk and the same gyms we shoot on, is inspiring for that younger generation.
They’ve seen me play, but most of it was just on social media. But they can hold on to Paolo or Dejounte Murray or Zach LaVine. That gives them fuel, especially with us not having the Sonics. Seeing someone right here accomplish the dream gives them a whole different gas to the next generation of athletes in our community.
Speaking of the next generation, are there any players in the league whose game may resemble your own?
@BizzyBones11 is nice! Keep going..
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) June 25, 2021
Crawford: Who you got, B? The pressure is on.
FTW: I compared Denver’s Bones Hyland to you during his pre-draft process.
Crawford: Yeah. [Laughs] That’s the first name I was going to say. You wrote it. Rashad Phillips said it.
He’s the one that has that same energy. He has the same fearlessness and the same herky-jerky game. I can look at Bones and see some similarities. That’s cool because he’s fun to watch play.
You don’t play or do any job for 20 years unless you were a good person and people enjoy being around you as well. It’s more than just talent. Bones has that infectious personality. You can tell he has a certain joy when he is playing basketball. That is contiguous, even for the common fan just watching him. That dude is having fun! I don’t know what it is, but he is smiling all the time. He has a lot of energy. He is working hard. I like watching him play. He had a couple of stretches where he was rolling. His future’s so bright. That might be another guy we get out to the ProAm this summer.
I also see some stuff with Caris LeVert. I see patterns and rhythms with Dejounte Murray and how he goes about it. Those three jump out at me but Bones is the first I was going to say.
What can you tell me about your sons and their future with basketball?
Jamal Crawford's 11 year old son JJ Crawford LOOKIN LIKE POPS out there at the Ballislife Jr. All American Camp 👀 @jcrossover pic.twitter.com/cV8nf2l8Dx
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) August 2, 2021
Crawford: My son Eric Crawford is chasing his dream and trying to go the G League route. He played at the University of Maine. My son JJ just turned 12 and enjoys it a lot. He’s working at it. We are working all the time. I coach him and my nephew, Will Conroy Jr., for Seattle Rotary. So I’m teaching them stuff and it takes me back to when I was a kid as well. I’m teaching them stuff that I learned for the first time when I was 10 years old. I’m re-teaching thoughts I hadn’t had in more than twenty years, so it’s really cool watching their journey and development.
You were able to play such a long pro career. What was the secret sauce?
Crawford: My feet. Bad feet would be like a boxer with weak hands. They wouldn’t have anything if they didn’t have their hands. Early in my career, I would get pedicures. Not for the gloss, Bryan. Don’t think I was getting gloss on my toes. But mainly for the massage that they provided. It made my feet feel good. My body needs to feel good. My shoes need to be laced a certain way. If they’re too tight, they’re uncomfortable. I have to re-do it.
My feet are everything, especially the way I play. I was always herky-jerky and shaking and baking, so I need my feet to feel good. I used to always take care of them. I would always stretch and ice even if nothing was hurting. I heard an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of recovery. I was always taking care of myself. I would change my diet. I drank water. Everything I did had a purpose. I was always trying to think about the long game so I could play at a high level for a long time. I try to teach that to these young guys because they don’t feel these aches and pains in their joints and feet, but if you get ahead of it and take care of yourself, you’ll be able to play for twenty years.
Is there anything, in particular, you would recommend for taking care of your feet?
Our guy @darKNIGHTmike recently took the @rotaryhoops 17u squad through a body prep workout in his gym. As part of the workout, the Seattle Rotary hoopers got to try our Game Day insoles for the first time. Once you try them, there’s no going back. cc: @JCrossover pic.twitter.com/jzN6BwPAjW
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) May 20, 2022
Crawford: Nate Jones [who founded Move Insoles] and I have worked together for a long time. I remember when he first told me about these insoles he was working on and I was excited because I am so particular about my feet. It’s documented that I would wear the same pairs of shoes the whole season. I had one pair on the road, one at home, and one for practice. I would only go through three pairs of shoes the whole season.
When he sent them to me, I was like: “Nate, this is crazy.” I played with them and I started dunking again. No lie, Bryan. It wasn’t because of the insoles. I’m not saying the insoles have special powers like it was Bow Wow in “Like Mike” and they give you hops.
But they made my feet feel comfortable. I felt quicker. I felt more connected to my shoe. I have a narrow foot and my foot sometimes gets lost in the shoe. These insoles connected my foot to the shoe and I felt more confident and made sharper moves.
How much can it help your game to take better care of your feet?
Crawford: Everything starts with your feet when you’re an athlete. You will not perform well if something is wrong with your feet. You’re not going to enjoy playing. You’re not going to have as much fun. My son JJ and I have stretch routines for our feet. We have stretch routines where we use a softball and loosen up and keep our feet relaxed.
There are so many things I didn’t know that I’m giving to him and my team. That’s part of our routine. We feel ready for whatever movement might come. When you’re on the court, you’re just reacting. When you’re young, you think you can never get hurt. You’re like: “Get hurt? I just grew a new muscle. I don’t get hurt.” I don’t want them to overthink it and scare them. But I want it in the back of their mind and just introduce them to how to take care of their body. It’s so important. I would’ve played even longer if I knew the stuff I know now.
The idea of you playing even longer is a scary thought, man.
Crawford: Well, Bryan. Let’s look at it like this, B. I scored 51 points off the bench in my last official game. I was 39 years old. I averaged more than 31 points and almost 6 assists in the month of April that season. That was the highest scoring month of my career. We won half the games that month, and we didn’t win very many games in Phoenix that season. I know it was the end of the season, but that showed that I could have performed at least for another year. For sure.
Now we have to see if LeBron James and Chris Paul can play as long as you did.
Crawford: I think they can. Chris, specifically, used to laugh at me. He would look at me being like: “What are you doing with your toes? Are you doing big toe stretches? What are you doing with your feet?” Now, it’s crazy. Now, he’s doing it. He’s like: “A-ha! I got it.” So that’s really cool.
