Like many others from his generation, Jamal Crawford grew up idolizing Michael Jordan. After watching both LeBron and the Chicago Bulls legend play in their prime, Crawford has concluded that Jordan is his pick for the GOAT debate. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year provided a new perspective to the infamous GOAT debate by highlighting MJ’s stats from the 1993 playoffs on Instagram. Isaiah Thomas’ comment on the post suggested that he agreed with JC.
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Jordan’s 1993 playoffs stint was one of the most remarkable postseason runs by an NBA superstar. As seen in Crawford’s Instagram post, the 6ft 6” shooting guard recorded 35.1 points per game during the run(including four 40-point games and two 50-point games). Additionally, His Airness was also incredibly efficient, shooting 40% from three in the Finals.
Crawford also highlighted a few stats that weren’t mentioned in the graphic. In his caption, the TNT analyst revealed that MJ also recorded 6.7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.
And 7 Rebounds and almost 7 assist and 2 steals per game‼️
STOP playing y’all…
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Former Boston Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas was in awe as well of Jordan’s stats in the graphic. By writing a simple “Lol” in the comment section, IT seemed to agree with Crawford’s GOAT case for Air Jordan.
J Crawsover responded to his former competitor by reiterating himself, pointing out MJ’s impressive rebounding and playmaking abilities once again.
Isaiah Thomas agrees with Crawford’s MJ take pic.twitter.com/Bf4CgRdVYZ
— Ballerz Worldwide (@ballaznba) May 18, 2024
The 44-year-old’s affection for Michael Jordan is not unknown. On multiple occasions in the past, he has come off as a fan-boy when talking about the six-time NBA champion.
Jamal Crawford lived his dream of playing alongside Michael Jordan
Jamal Crawford was able to live the dream that many youngsters wished for while watching Michael Jordan. Not only did he meet the Bulls legend in person, but he also had the privilege of teaming up with him.
Crawford’s anecdote regarding teaming up with MJ is quite popular. Detailing the entire experience of meeting and sharing the court with his idol, Jamal Crawford said in The Pivot Podcast:
“I get drafted to Chicago and Tim Grover, who I knew through the draft process, calls me at 6 in the morning, ‘Yo, MJ said you can meet him.’ Bro, I got up so fast and I drove downtown.
First time we actually played against each other, I think our team won and I saw how made he was. He was pissed off, he went and sat in the corner. He reacted as if he lost a Game 7.
The next day… we played together and we never lost.”
Merely a few years later, Crawford was also lucky enough to play a role as Michael Jordan’s body double in Gatorade’s ad campaign.
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Unfortunately, Crawford’s career trajectory didn’t resemble that of Michael Jordan’s. While the former was never an NBA champion or an All-Star, he is recognized as one of the most successful off-the-bench players in NBA history.