With the announcement this fall of former Chicago Bulls All-NBA level guard Derrick Rose’s retirement, debate has gripped the league over whether or not or not the three-time All-Star and 2011 MVP could possibly be named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame in 2011. Springfield, Massachusetts.
Whereas Rose at the least appeared headed towards a Corridor of Fame trajectory earlier than career-altering ACL and meniscus tears, a beloved former Los Angeles Lakers swingman just lately argued that one other former draft decide Chicago Lottery deserved a spot in Springfield.
Nick Younger, a 6-foot-7 USC product who recorded 4 memorable 4 of his 12 NBA seasons whereas suiting up for a sequence of Los Angeles lottery groups, just lately visited vouch for three-time Sixth Man of the Yr Jamal Crawford. as a Corridor of Famer – supplied Rose is taken into account such.
If I had a HOF @JCrossover Crawford higher be one
– Nick Younger (@NickSwagyPYoung) September 27, 2024
Crawford was by no means an All-Star, however he was an elite participant for an prolonged time period, offering main scoring off the bench for a number of playoff-bound golf equipment. His three Sixth Man of the Yr honors tie him with former Lakers combo guard Lou Williams for essentially the most in NBA historical past (though Williams didn’t win any of these honors in Los Angeles) .
The 6-foot-5 Crawford was chosen with the eighth total decide within the 2000 NBA Draft out of Michigan. Over a 20-year profession, the combo guard turned one of many sport’s deadliest ball handlers, with a crossover so vicious it was included into the Seattle native’s most notorious nickname .
Over 1,327 common season video games (433 begins) with the Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and eventually the Brooklyn Nets, “Jamal Crossover” averaged 14.6 factors on a .410/. .348/.862 slash line, 3.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per evening. He completed among the many high 14 recipients of Sixth Man of the Yr voting 9 instances throughout his profession, profitable for the Hawks as soon as and the Clippers twice. Crawford additionally owns a strong 19,419 profession common season factors, a reasonably astronomical quantity for anybody, not to mention a reserve who has by no means averaged 20 or extra factors in a person season.
His identification as a significant playoff contributor emerged through the second half of his profession, when he appeared in eight consecutive playoffs from 2009 to 2018, however by no means made it previous the second spherical.
Crawford’s case for Corridor may additionally fairly be utilized to a Robert Horry kind: he was improbable in his function, on groups that mattered. Within the case of Horry, who was 4 earlier than cool on seven championship groups (together with three Lakers title winners), he was an important contributor to golf equipment that gained all of it at a stage not seen because the Invoice Russell period. Celts. Crawford by no means achieved that playoff success, however was a extra crucial offensive piece for his golf equipment in his period. As of now, neither participant seems to have the person items wanted to create the room.
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