It’s been 10 years, and former NBA guard Jordan Crawford’s dunk on LeBron James remains one of those unforgettable offseason moments. But Crawford is still waiting to cash in on it.
The dunk in question came during a pickup game at the 2009 LeBron James Skills Academy in Ohio. At the time, Crawford was a sophomore at Xavier and playing against the top college and NBA guys in the game. According to Crawford, Nike organizers said that any player to dunk on LeBron would get $500.
Whether it was a joke or not, Crawford ended up throwing down a two-handed dunk on LeBron, which led to the best angle of the dunk getting confiscated from a freelance photographer — evidently by Nike. This angle was later released and took the NBA world by storm.
Crawford ended up starring for Xavier in its Sweet 16 run and had a journeyman NBA career. He last played for the Sichuan Blue Whales.
But that check from Nike? He’s still waiting on it. Via Uproxx:
Crawford admits to some curiosity about the fate of that original video, but it’s not the only trophy from that night that he’d like to claim. He remembers Nike reps joking with the college players before the game about a $500 bounty for anyone who could manage to dunk on the camp’s namesake.
Crawford laughs as he delivers the punchline: “They never gave me my $500.”
Pay the man, Nike. He deserves it.
