Joseph Reshard Crawford II (born June 17, 1986) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He formerly played at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and was selected with the 58th overall pick by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the 2008 NBA draft. He signed with the Lakers on August 27, 2008, but was waived October 22, during the 2008–09 pre-season.

High school and recruitment

Crawford attended

Renaissance High School Renaissance High School is a public high school in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Renaissance is one of four magnet high schools in the Detroit Public Schools district; (the others being Cass Technical High School, Detroit School of Arts, and C ...

in Detroit, where he led his team to a perfect 27–0 record and a state title. He was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

in 2004. Crawford originally committed to play for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, but reopened his recruitment and chose to attend the

as part of a freshman class that also featured

Ramel Bradley Ramel "Smooth" Bradley (born February 5, 1985) is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for Ankara DSİ S.K., Ankara DSİ of the Turkish Basketball First League. He played college basketball at the University of Kentuc ...

and All-Americans

Rajon Rondo Rajon Pierre Rondo (, born February 22, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Rondo played two years of college basketball for ...

and

Randolph Morris Randolph Albert Morris (born January 2, 1986) is a retired former American professional basketball player. High school As a senior for Atlanta, Georgia's Landmark Christian High School, Morris nearly averaged a triple-double at 23.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg ...

College career

Crawford became a bigger part of the team's rotation in his sophomore season, averaging 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. During his junior year, Crawford started 32 of 34 games and averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He was the leading scorer in 8 games and set a new career high in an overtime loss against the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

with 29 points. Crawford became the 54th Wildcat to score 1,000 points in his career on December 1, 2007, against the

North Carolina Tarheels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

. On March 20, 2008, Crawford closed his career with a loss to

Marquette Golden Eagles The Marquette Golden Eagles, formerly known as the Marquette Warriors, Blue and Gold, Gold, Hilltoppers, and Golden Avalanche (football only), are the athletic teams representing Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They ...

in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Crawford was the game's high scorer, matching a career-best with 35 points before fouling out.

Professional career

Joe Crawford was drafted by the

with the 58th overall pick in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft. He signed with the Lakers on August 27, 2008. Crawford was waived by the

Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

on October 22, 2008. Crawford had played in all three exhibition games during the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

pre-season, averaging 8.3 minutes and 2.7 points. Crawford had to make the team in order for his contract to be guaranteed. Crawford then played in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

for the

affiliate

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

. On March 26, 2009, Crawford was called up from the D-League by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and signed a 10-day contract. On April 6, 2009 he signed with the Knicks for the rest of the season. On October 22, 2009, Joe Crawford was waived from the Knicks' roster.Knicks Waive Crawford and Hunter
/ref> After playing for the Orlando Magic's summer league team in the summer of 2010, Crawford signed a non-guaranteed contract with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He was released on October 15. Joe Crawford then joined his former

teammate

on the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chi ...

. He later played with Maccabi Rishon LeZion of Israel. On January 18, 2015, he was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the

. On October 12, he left Erie to sign in the newly formed AmeriLeague; however, the league folded after it was discovered the founder was a con-artist.

Personal life

Crawford's brother,

Jordan Crawford Jordan Lee Crawford (born October 23, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Manama Club of the Bahraini Premier League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Xavier Musketeers. His brother is Joe Crawfor ...

, played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and Xavier.

References

External links

*
Official Kentucky bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Joe 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Israel Basketball players from Detroit Beijing Ducks players Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players Jiangsu Dragons players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans New York Knicks players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Shooting guards Small forwards American men's basketball players Renaissance High School alumni