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 (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the

2008 NBA draft The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this NBA draft, draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took t ...

. 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 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, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

in 2004. Crawford originally committed to play for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, but reopened his recruitment and chose to attend 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, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

as part of a freshman class that also featured Ramel Bradley and All-Americans

Rajon Rondo Rajon Pierre Rondo Sr. (; born February 22, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. Rondo won two NBA championships, was selected four times as an NBA All-Star, earned four NBA All-Defensive Team honors including two First Te ...

and Randolph Morris.

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 College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

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

Marquette Golden Eagles The Marquette Golden Eagles are an athletic team representing Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football, sub-level), primarily competing in the Big East Conf ...

in the first 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

. 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

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 a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

for the

affiliate

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

. 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

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

teammate Randolph Morris on the

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

. 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.

Career statistics

Source:

NBA

Regular season

Personal life

Crawford's brother,

Jordan Crawford Jordan Lee Crawford (born October 23, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Xavier Musketeers. His brother is Joe Crawford, who has also played in the NBA. Ear ...

, played

for

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the 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