Tassie Import Trio's Incredible Off-Court History

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Jordon Crawford may be playing with Marcus Lee and Milton Doyle for the first time in NBL24, but his relationship with his fellow Tasmania imports goes way back.

Tasmania’s trio of imports for NBL24 is set, and with the signing of Jordon Crawford the JackJumpers have secured one of the most electric scorers from last season's campaign of European basketball.

Crawford’s on-court abilities are a well-known quantity thanks to the sheer number of games the 32-year-old has played in competitions around the world.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the NBA G-League, the German Basketball Bundesliga, the Turkish Basketball Legaue, or anywhere in between. Crawford has maintained his ability as an remarkably talented scorer for the best part of a decade.

Throughout his professional exploits, though, he’s become well-acquainted with both Marcus Lee and Milton Doyle – who he is set to line up with in NBL24.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">? Cool.Crafty.Composed.Crawford ?<br>Get a glimpse of new signing Jordon Crawford and what’s to come at the Nest!<a href="https://twitter.com/IAM_JCraw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAM_JCraw</a> <a href="https://t.co/NeQ54zh3oh">pic.twitter.com/NeQ54zh3oh</a></p>— Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1672083225362169859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“We played against each other in my rookie year when he was with Brooklyn’s G-League team and we kind of got familiar,” Crawford said of new Tasmania teammate Milton Doyle. “That’s my guy.

“When I was in Germany he was in Spain, we played each other in Turkey, we were in Summer League with Portland together, so we have a long background.

“I played against Marcus and after he left Turkey I actually tried to recruit him to play with me.

“It didn’t work but I love how he plays – he runs hard, runs the floor, blocks shots, he’s a lob threat. It’s been a while since I’ve played with somebody where I can just throw it near the rim and they’ll go and get it.

“I’m super excited for him to be out on the fast break with me.”

Standing at 5’6” tall Crawford has continuously defied the expectations placed on him within the international basketball landscape, and he’s consistently embedded himself within the community of whatever team he’s played on.

He says it will be no different in Tasmania, and believes he already shares some key traits with the JackJumpers faithful.

“The biggest thing going is I feel like Tasmania in general, they’re blue-collar, tough, hardworking people,” Crawford said.

“I want to be a hard worker, the blue-collar who gets after it and each game – whether we win or lose – they’re proud.

“I try to bring what the team needs. When I was in Turkey the team needed someone that could score and create for themselves and others, but I’ve been on teams where I was the second option and I played off somebody else.

“I’m really trying to do what the team needs.”