Former NBA guard Jamal Crawford finished his career as one of the best bench players. Crawford is one of two players who have won the Sixth Man of the Year award three times. The other player was Lou Williams. Aside from his outstanding play as a sixth man, the Seattle native had a reputation as one of the best ballhandlers in the game, earning the moniker J-Crossover.
Offensively, he can do a lot of damage when he has the ball. Crawford can score from almost anywhere on the floor. He was a strong presence when he drove to the basket, often making his defenders lose balance. The 6-foot-5 guard can also knock down mid-range jumpers efficiently. Lastly, the former New York Knicks guard shot 34.8% from deep.
Although he wasn’t a talent like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony, he was still a problem for most defenders.
Iman Shumpert, one of the best perimeter defenders in the early 2010s with the Knicks, knows what it’s like to guard Crawford. When asked to name the three hardest players to defend, the 2016 champion credited the former Los Angeles Clippers guard at the top spot.
“Dealing with Jamal Crawford,” Shumpert said. “That was one of those guys that, as much as I was a kid and I wanted — I can’t wait to guard Crawford, I can’t wait to play with him, against him, whatever.
“When you’re finally out there, and you have that moment of guarding him. He makes one or two moves, you reach at both of them, and you realize in your mind, ‘I can’t take the ball from him.’”
Crawford saw the praise from Shumpert and gave him a shoutout on X.
“Utmost respect to Shump!! 🔥🙏🏾” Crawford said.
Utmost respect to Shump!! 🔥🙏🏾 https://t.co/9BlRae1ZYk
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) August 8, 2025
Shumpert also listed former NBA stars Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade in his top three.
Jamal Crawford said he made coming off the bench look cool
Any NBA star would choose to be a starter instead of coming off the bench. Only a few players can humble themselves to come off the bench. Jamal Crawford belongs in that category, as he didn’t complain about being a player off the bench despite being one of the most talented players at that time.
During his guest appearance at the “Eye for the Game” podcast, Crawford said that he helped coming off the bench look cool.
“I think I helped make it cool. It’s a product of hard work. You can literally make something cool. So it’s crazy to see the effect of where it went,” the former star said.
Crawford could’ve easily forced the teams he played for to put him in the starting lineup. However, he chose to cater to the situation and come off the bench.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
