Jordan Crawford was a little-known college sophomore in the summer of 2009 when he was playing in one of LeBron James Skill Academy, getting the chance to scrimmage against the then-MVP of the NBA. Crawford posterized LeBron during that scrimmage, an infamous play in which tapes were destroyed. Crawford wants to see the tapes and the $500 Nike offered to anyone who dunked on LeBron.
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“We got to find them. They owe me $500 too. They did this before the tape, ‘Whoever dunk on LeBron gets $500.’ I never got my $500, man.”
The story had become an urban legend until some raw footage taken from a cellphone in 2009 came out. While the play isn’t crystal clear like how the videographers on the sidelines would have had, it does prove that Crawford did dunk on LeBron despite Nike trying to ensure nobody ever knew of this.
Nike Confiscated The Tapes Of The Incident
This may have been a non-story if the tape just came out, as players will often end up on the wrong end of highlight plays. But it seems Nike and the James camp didn’t want the reputation of the then 25-year-old star to be hurt with such a long career ahead. This led to Nike confiscating all video tapes from the media members who were present for the event.
Derek Kent, a Nike spokesperson, had to address the rumors with a statement where he said that tapes were confiscated because videotaping of after-hours pickup games at the camp was not allowed.
“Nike has been operating basketball camps for the benefit of young athletes for decades and has long-standing policies as to what events are open and closed to media coverage. Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, two journalists did not respect our no videotaping policy at an after-hours pickup game following the LeBron James Skills Academy.”
Ryan Miller was a freelance photographer who had gotten a video of the dunk when it happened but had his tape confiscated by Nike executives almost immediately after the play took place. He claimed that LeBron was behind the tapes being confiscated after spotting a conversation between James and Nike Basketball director Lynn Merritt.
“[Nike Basketball senior director Lynn Merritt] just said, ‘We have to take your tape,’ They took it from other guys, too… LeBron called Lynn over and told him something. That’s how I knew his name was Lynn. LeBron said, ‘Hey, Lynn. Come here…’ There’s nothing I can think of besides LeBron just not wanting it online. It’s a good story to tell people, I guess. But then again, I’m kind of pissed. I lost my tape.”
Given the fact that Crawford didn’t even get the $500 that Nike had allegedly promised to any kid in the camp who could dunk on James is sad. That amount of money would have made next to no difference to them and could’ve been a tidy reward for the college kid. But they didn’t want to acknowledge the existence of the dunk entirely, so it makes sense that they have ignored Crawford since.
Jordan Crawford averaged 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in a largely unspectacular NBA career. He last played for the Pelicans in 2018 but has had a largely successful international career. He’s currently playing for the Sichuan Blue Whales in China.
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