Jamal Crawford played in the NBA for nearly 20 seasons, and while he was never an All-Star, he was one of the most dangerous scorers of his time. He was awarded the 6th Man of the Year trophy 3 times, acknowledged for his ability to change the game off the bench for his dynamic play. The best part about Crawford’s game was his handles, the 6’5 guard could get past just about any defender with his epic crossover.
His handles were so good, Crawford earned nicknames like J-Crossover, Crawssover Crawford and LA’s Dance Instructor. And Kevin Garnett thinks that there was something truly unique about the way Crawford handled the ball. There have been many scorers in the NBA that were known for their elite handling, names like Allen Iverson, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway, but Garnett told Crawford on his show KG: CERTIFIED that his handles were something that the Big Ticket had never seen before.
Garnett: “I like to think that you started that, now I’ve never seen someone Euro behind the back. Like, AI had handles, Steph has handles. Your handles was different. You were going so well with that. Take me where you’re even getting this from, it was like a Euro kind of game.”
Crawford: “Yeah, no I spent a lot of time on myself, just imagining. I would play myself, I would count down, ‘If I make this shot, I’ll be in the league’. I spent a lot of time on myself, studied the game so much like I owe the game everything… I watched all the greats, and I said how can I? Cuz I AI had the left-to-right crossover right, but everyone was catching up to that, it was the dopest move. I said, well how can I have a move of my own that nobody can get to me? So I said, I can go behind the back, I can go behind the back again.”
Crawford’s story is an excellent example of the dedication and thought process it takes to develop a signature move at the very highest level of basketball. While he may not have some of the accolades that the other greats of the game did, Crawford will always be looked at as one of the most entertaining players to have played in the NBA.
