Jamal Crawford
From Hoopedia
Jamal Crawford (born March 20, 1980 in Seattle, Washington) is an American professional basketball player currently at the shooting guard position with the NBA's New York Knicks.
Crawford attended the University of Michigan, but after being drafted in 2000 as a freshman by the Cleveland Cavaliers, he was traded on draft day to the Chicago Bulls for their pick, Chris Mihm. After four seasons in Chicago, he was traded (along with Jerome Williams) to the Knicks prior to the 2004-05 season, where he started alongside Stephon Marbury at shooting guard.
On November 30, 2005, Crawford had one of the most successful halves of basketball in his young career as he scored 23 second-half points on the Chicago Bulls, his former team. The New York Knicks overcame an 8-point 4th quarter deficit in this game to beat the Bulls 109-101. The Chicago Tribune quoted ex-Bulls teammate Kirk Hinrich saying "I've seen Jamal do that a lot, It's unfortunate he did it against us."
Crawford's uniform number (23) is retired at Rainer Beach High School in Seattle. His current uniform number, 11, is in honor of former Detroit Pistons guard and current Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas. On December 6, 2005, he scored 31 second-half points in front of friends and family, as he and fellow Rainier Beach alum Nate Robinson enjoyed a road victory over the Seattle SuperSonics. This occurred just hours after Crawford unveiled Crawford Court, the $100,000 stadium for Rainer Beach High School.
In the 2005-06 NBA season, Jamal Crawford was projected to be the starting shooting guard alongside Stephon Marbury following the retirement of Allan Houston, but instead came off the bench. After some early-season struggles, he became a favorite of now-former coach Larry Brown for his work ethic and commitment to defense.
On January 26, 2007, Crawford scored a career high 52 points, putting him 6th on the all-time list. He hit 8 three pointers, one shy of the team record set by Latrell Sprewell in 2002.
In February 2007, Crawford learned he would need surgery to mend a stress fracture in his right ankle, which would likely force him to miss the remainder of the 2006-07 season.
