“They Stopped Me”: Forced to Quit NBA, Jamal Crawford Spills Ugly Truth Behind Retirement

Jamal Crawford had one of the deepest bags in NBA history, dazzling defenders with his elite handles and redefining what it meant to be a sixth man. Over a 20-year career, he built a reputation as a walking bucket, someone who could drop 50 on any given night. But as his playing days wound down, things didn’t go as planned.

During a recent episode of The OGs podcast, Crawford finally opened up about why he stopped playing. “Honestly, they stopped me,” he revealed. “And what I mean was the year before I won Teammate of the Year. To me, that was the most impressive award because that’s not an award. That’s just a teammate having character. You know what I’m saying? So I’m like, you can’t question my character.”

However, Crawford didn’t get a reward for it. “Then I wait 16 months and go play in the bubble. So it’s like I got to a point where I had depression at times.” Strangely enough, teams still wanted him—just not on the court. “By the way, try to hire me to coach or be in their front office. So I’m like, damn, you know what? They want my brain, but they don’t want me on the court.”

So what he choose? “Still got to work out. Got to be ready for your own sanity. Right. So I’m doing all that. And I’m like, I’m taking control of my own career back. I earned that right. So that’s why I stopped playing.”

Back in 2018-19, he had one last reminder for the league. With the Suns deep in rebuilding mode, he got extended minutes late in the season—and he made the most of them. Over the final three games, he averaged 35.3 points, 6 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 52.9% from the field.

He even dropped a 51-point masterpiece in his last game. But despite proving he could still hoop, no team called. It hit him hard—so hard that he couldn’t even watch basketball for a year and a half.

Jamal Crawford left heartbroken

By the time Jamal Crawford was set to enter his age-39 season, he had already proven he still had plenty left in the tank. With his successful Suns tenure, he had every reason to believe another team would come calling. But instead of suiting up for another season, he was met with silence.

Eventually, Crawford did land with the Brooklyn Nets, but it wasn’t the opportunity he had hoped for. He played just one game in the bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic before injuries sidelined him. After that, the calls stopped coming. No workouts, no training camp invites—nothing. After two years of waiting for a chance that never came, he had no choice but to walk away from the game he loved.

The abrupt ending hit him hard. “I went through moments of depression,” Crawford admitted on The Draymond Green Show. “As much as I love basketball and I love the game, I couldn’t even watch basketball for a year and a half. I didn’t watch basketball at all… I was depressed, and I didn’t know it. My wife told me, ‘You would go to rooms and just kind of disappear… come back with the fam.’”

Now, Crawford is back in the game, this time as an analyst. While it’s great to see him doing well, there’s no denying that he deserved a better send-off.