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5 things to know about Timberwolves guard Jamal Crawford

By George Rinaldi

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 22: Jamal Crawford #11 of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for portraits during 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 22: Jamal Crawford #11 of the Minnesota Timberwolves pose for portraits during 2017 Media Day on September 22, 2017 at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx Courts at Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 25: Professional Athlete Jamal Crawford attends the 31st Annual Cedears-Sinai Sports Spectacular Gala at The W Hotel Los Angeles in West Beverly Hills on March 25, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 25: Professional Athlete Jamal Crawford attends the 31st Annual Cedears-Sinai Sports Spectacular Gala at The W Hotel Los Angeles in West Beverly Hills on March 25, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic) /

4. Overcame a gambling problem

Jamal Crawford became good friends with all-time great Michael Jordan at the start of his career, but got more than he bargained for.

Jordan has always been a bit of a player when it comes to cards or dabbling in bets, though usually he stuck to playing 36-hole golf before a gold medal match in 1992. One day whilst playing craps, Crawford bit off more than he could chew when it came to gambling.

"[Crawford] brought about $2,000 in cash that night…Crawford was up and down for a while, once holding about $10,000 in cash, more than he had ever won before. Then he went down. Way down. Into a hole there was no coming back from. He began making bets with money he didn’t have on hand with a group of professional gamblers used to getting paid on the spot."

Crawford weighed in on the matter himself, saying:

"They would be like, ‘OK, you bet two grand on this one, OK lost.’ Then they’d say, ‘Now we will bet three on this one [roll]. Oops, lost. Now you down 15 [grand].” So it wasn’t like cash was coming out, it was like air money. But it was money I was going to have to pay somehow eventually."

According to the article, he managed to pay off around $100,000 in debt due to selling his Mercedes-Benz about 16 years ago, but now he’s done with gambling.

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