In January 2017, I sat down with three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford on Scoop B Radio. At the time, Crawford was a veteran leader for the “Lob City” Los Angeles Clippers, but our “buttoned-up” conversation focused on his pivotal years with the New York Knicks. Specifically, Jamal opened up about his deep bond with Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, a man he credits with not only believing in his talent but also teaching him the “maturity” required to survive the New York spotlight.
Reflecting on this in December 2025—with Crawford now one of the most respected broadcasting voices in the game and Isiah continuing his work as a global basketball ambassador—this 2017 session remains a masterclass in the “coach-player” dynamic.
“He Gave Me the Confidence to Lead”
Jamal Crawford’s tenure in New York (2004–2008) was a turbulent time for the franchise, but for Crawford personally, it was a period of massive individual growth. He attributed much of that to Isiah Thomas’s “player-first” philosophy.
“Isiah was great for me,” Jamal told me in 2017. “He was a player’s coach. He understood what we were going through on the court because he had been there at the highest level. He gave me the confidence to not just be a scorer, but to be a leader. He pushed me to understand the game from a point guard’s perspective, even when I was playing the two.”
The Maturity of “J-Crossover”
Isiah Thomas often spoke of Jamal as a “special talent,” but Crawford noted that Isiah’s toughest lessons weren’t about his handle or his jumper; they were about consistency and mental toughness.
- The Knicks Era: Jamal averaged 17.6 points per game during his four seasons in New York, including a legendary 52-point performance against Miami.
- The “Zeke” Influence: Isiah taught Jamal how to tune out the “noise” of the New York media, a skill that allowed Jamal to prolong his career into his late 30s.
- The Transition: Crawford noted that Isiah was the first person to talk to him about the “Sixth Man” mindset—valuing the end of the game more than the start.
| Jamal Crawford: The Knicks Years | Stats / Impact |
| Scoring Average | 17.6 PPG |
| Career High (with NYK) | 52 Points (vs. Miami, 2007) |
| Isiah’s Role | Head Coach & President of Basketball Operations |
| The Takeaway | Learned the “Maturity” to handle the NY spotlight. |
2025 Retrospective: Two Generations of Floor Generals
As of late 2025, the relationship between Jamal and Isiah has evolved into a peer-to-peer mentorship. Jamal has become a “Key One” in the media space, using the same articulate, “buttoned-up” style that Isiah pioneered as an analyst.
The lessons Jamal learned under Isiah in 2007—about spacing, timing, and the psychological “assassin” mindset we discussed with J.R. Reid—are the same ones he now shares with the next generation of guards.
As Jamal said to me:
“When you have a Hall of Famer telling you you’re special, you start to believe it. But he also made sure I worked for it.”
In 2025, that belief system is still paying dividends. Jamal Crawford isn’t just a retired legend; he’s a student of the game who passed the “Zeke” test with flying colors.
