Retired shooting guard Jamal Crawford reflected on his 20-year NBA run in a conversation with Bryan Kalbrosky of USA Today. Earlier this summer, the 6’5″ vet, a three-time Sixth Man of the Year, showed off his still-lethal handle at his yearly Seattle-based Pro-Am league the CrawsOver.
“I would always stretch and ice even if nothing was hurting,” Crawford, now 42, said of one of the keys to his longevity in the league. “I heard an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of recovery. I was always taking care of myself… I was always trying to think about the long game so I could play at a high level for a long time… I would’ve played even longer if I knew the stuff I know now.”
Across 1,327 career games played with the Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Suns and Nets, Crawford averaged 14.6 PPG, 3.4 APG and 2.2 RPG, while posting shooting splits of .410/.348/.862.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball globe:
- After flirting with a move to the NBA this summer, star EuroLeague guard Vasilije Micic opted to remain with Anadolu Efes in Turkey. The Thunder continue to possess the draft rights to the two-time reigning EuroLeague Final Four MVP, who spoke to Rada Nikolić August of Sport Klub about his offseason decision . “I felt a slight mistrust from the direction of the strongest league in the world, which they have towards many, not only me,” Micic said, though he seemed open to keeping the door open to an eventual move stateside. “I really don’t think I’m going there to prove what and how much I can do. It’s nice like this for me, so if I go to America one day, it will happen…” Last year, the 28-year-old averaged 18.1 PPG, 4.7 APG, 2.3 RPG, and 1.1 SPG across 28 contests with Anadolu Efes in EuroLeague play.
- New Bulls reserve point guard Goran Dragic is set to return to competition for his native Slovenia in EuroBasket 2022 this September, as he announced via Twitter. “I’M BACK,” the 36-year-old posted, along with a variety of descriptive emojis. Dragic had previously retired from playing for Slovenia in 2017, after helping the national club win its first-ever FIBA European championship in EuroBasket play. Dragic won the EuroBasket MVP award for his efforts, averaging 22.6 PPG in nine games. Dragic joined Chicago this summer following turns with the Raptors and Nets in 2021/22.
Which of these great scoring guards was better… Jamal Crawford, Reggie Theus, Phil Chenier, Cuttino Mobley or Dale Ellis? Give your top3 if possible…
1: Reggie Theus
2: Dale Ellis
3: Phil Chenier
4: Jamal Crawford
5: Cuttino Mobley
I see you favor the 80s guys & I definitely dig it. Anything specific make u pick Theus?
Theus was a very talented player and had lots of good years in the NBA as a good defender and was kind of a Magic Johnson/Ben Simmons type player
I see Theus more like Latrell Sprewell or a slightly shorter Steve Smith. He had good handle & had pretty good decision making skills but he loved to shoot/score more than anything. Brandon Roy, Manu Ginobili & Joe Johnson are slightly better versions of those guys. I feel like Theus is def underrated tho. MJ came in & made Chi fans forget about him pretty quick lol
I’m going Dale Ellis then Cutino over Crawford. Didn’t see the others guys play.
Dale Ellis is rarely talked about nowadays, in sharp contrast to Dell Curry who is seemingly everywhere at all times. Sorta crazy that Steph (& to a lesser extent Seth) has achieved so much as a pro while Chris Ellis (Dale’s son) had way more physical gifts yet never even made it close to the league. Chris could play too. He went to Wake Forest (which along with State, UNC & Duke famously didn’t recruit either Curry bro out of hs) but just never reached his potential
Dale was stiff but he was good. He’d be perfect for today’s 3 and D. Like a better Harrison Barnes.
Dale would be absolutely perfect for this era of the league. Not much wiggle at all but literally 1 of the best shooters in the history of the game. Him & Peja would be next level playing nowadays
As far as Micic I mean this is just further proof that Philly made an extremely dumb move when they fired Sam Hinkie. That franchise has made bad move after bad move since then & trading Micic is a prime example. I bet it was Colangelo that traded him but tbh Elton Brand hasn’t been much better #TrustTheProcess
Craw was always a pleasure to watch. His handles were likely inspiration to a lot of today’s best. He was always more of a volume shooter and later became a decent 3pt threat but his game wouldn’t be as appreciated by today’s standards. But a damn good entertaining player. Although I hadn’t become a big Cleveland fan until the next year it’s a joke that the Cavs did a draft day trade moving Craw for Chris Mihm. So early Cavaliers like.