David Hamilton, popularly known as “Super Crip,” is a legend in Compton’s basketball scene. Although he is widely considered one of the most talented players to never play in the NBA, Super Crip remains a highly respected individual.
Hamilton was a well-known player even during his high school days. However, his legend only grew after a horrific shooting incident in 1998, notably before the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic, a game Super Crip appeared in two days after being shot. Hamilton recalled the story on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes, sharing:
“I’ll never forget it, bro. I had an ’87 Cutlass, champagne brown with the flakes on it. So I’m loving it because I’m flipping the paint, we beefin’. And they busted my window, tried to take my sounds and s–t.”
Hamilton mentioned that he remained passive, trying not to escalate the situation further. Given that he had other plans, he decided to move along. After practice, he recalled driving his teammates back from practice, explaining their plans to “hotbox.” At this point, however, they were suddenly boxed in by another vehicle.
“They picked the chopper up and hung it out the window, bro, and gave it to us,” Super Crip added. “But my thing is, if you really wanted to kill us, you should have jumped out. We was parked, you had us boxed in. You didn’t do your thing.”
The Compton legend’s description of the situation was chilling. Unfortunately, despite his “critique,” the damage had been done. He continued:
“Certain other people didn’t make it. So I don’t know I’m hit… It felt like somebody had boiled a T-shirt or a towel for like 20-30 minutes and just dropped it on my back.”
While still reeling from the events, Hamilton realized that he needed to gauge the situation. However, when he checked the back seat, his friend had already passed.
Shortly after, Hamilton was taken to Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center for medical attention. Along with him, he mentioned seeing several others who had suffered bullet wounds and other injuries. Although he was questioned by the police in the hospital, Hamilton found his way out after a few hours.
Ahead of his basketball game, Super Crip needed to be padded up, primarily to prevent his wounds from opening up again by accident. Unfortunately, on his way to a smokeout before the game, he was stopped and arrested for having a gun in the back of his car.
“I got shot. Tried to go to the smokeout. Got stopped by the police. Got arrested for having a gun in the car. They check the gun, make sure there was nothing on it. They let me go. Play in the game. Forgot all about that s–t, bro,” he concluded.
Hamilton’s story may be a tragic one, but it is also a representation of his mental and physical toughness. Having appeared on the big stage under such drastic circumstances, Super Crip grew in stature as an icon within the basketball community.
Although David Hamilton’s career as a professional athlete didn’t take off, he played competitively in college, representing Auburn University. In 29 games for the Tigers, he averaged 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4% from the field.
He now works with at-risk youth in the Los Angeles area and has released his first book, “
