Jamal Crawford is in his first year working full-time at Turner Sports. The three-time Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year was a regular analyst on NBA on TNT Tuesday with Adam Lefkoe, Candace Parker, and Shaquille O’Neal. Being in the media full-time was not something Crawford saw coming, but he enjoys talking about the game with others.
Crawford was a guest on The Old Man and the Three podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter and he said being in the media did not become the full plan for him until he started going on podcasts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I didn’t think this was the plan. When the pandemic hit, I started doing so many different podcasts and I didn’t realize I loved talking the game this much. It’s so cool that there are people out there that want to talk the game like I do….I love it and I got bit by the bug. The crazy thing is when I started going on TV, I started getting text messages like I would when I scored 20 on TV like when I was playing.”
During his first full year at Turner, Crawford mentioned that Turner Sports was the perfect place to start because the atmosphere was always fun.
“It was great. I’m not sure if I could have walked into a better place to start to be honest with you because there was no pressure. It was all fun. We’re always just like clowning around. The stuff behind the scenes is even better. Me and Shaq had a versus every single week. We’d pick a topic and we would ask people in the room what they wanted to hear and we’d go back and forth picking songs. Some of that stuff I’ll never forget, but working on that crew, it definitely made it a lot smoother for sure.”
As for his critiques on current players, Crawford told Redick and Alter that the goal for him is to be authentic in anything that does and that if the relationship was strong beforehand, then the player will understand where he’s coming from.
“I just try to be honest. I’ve always prided myself on being authentic, so I’m always trying to be honest. There’s a way you can get your point across without tearing somebody down. They understand someone missed a big shot or it was a different read they could have taken. You can say it without the shock value of screaming it or trying to belittle someone.
“At the end of the day, if the relationship is solid and it’s really there, they will understand and respect where you are coming from…My best friend said that would be the hardest challenge for me being in full-time media. There’s going to come a point where you have to say the truth or you’re going to have to kind of protect the friendship. My mindset is if I keep the game the main thing, I’ll always be guided in the right direction.”
