"Well, I was nervous.": Jamal Crawford's 63-point Pro-Am game came thanks to Kobe Bryant's 'Nerve-wracking' presence
In an effort to keep basketball alive in his hometown of Seattle, Jamal Crawford holds a Pro-Am every summer. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year recently opened up on his favorite performance from these games.
Jamal Crawford has been out of the NBA since 2020, but he continues to play in his CrawsOver Pro-Am. Dating back to 2021, he's hosted a wide array of talent consisting of the top high school, college and overseas players. Some of the notable NBA players to show up in the past include LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and fellow Seattle native Paolo Banchero.
During a recent interview with Sportskeeda's Mark Medina, Jamal Crawford was asked his favorite perfromance from a Pro-Am game. He cited one instance where he scored 63 points and hit a game-winner. Crawford was extremely nervous heading into the game because Kobe Bryant was in attendance.
“My personal was when I scored 63 [points] including the game winner when Kobe came.”
“Well, I was nervous. Basketball royalty was coming to watch me. I wanted to put on a show. I was starting really, really slow because he was there. Then, I started cooking and hit the game-winning shot. I think that’s the most points I scored in a pro-am game, and it happened when he was there."
What is the most points Jamal Crawford has scored in an NBA game?
During his 20 years in the NBA, Jamal Crawford cemented himself as one of the greatest sixth men in history. While he primarily came off the bench, that hasn't stopped him from having some notable scoring performances.
It isn't his career-high, but the Crawford outing that people bring up the most came in 2019 as a member of the Phoenix Suns. In what could have potentially been the final game of his career, the veteran guard wanted to go out on a high note. At the age of 38, he erupted for 51 points. This performance etched him in the history books as the oldest player in NBA history to score 50 or more points.
As for the most points he's scored in a game, that came during the 2007 as a member of the New York Knicks. In a 20-points win over the Miami Heat, Crawford got up 30 shots en route to finishing the game with 52 points.
Besides these two outings, Crawford has broken the 50-point mark twice. The first time happened in 2004 when he played for the Chicago Bulls. Crawford then notched another 50-point game in 2009 as a member of the Golden State Warriors.