Jamal Crawford can call himself an NBA player again. The veteran guard will play when the NBA comes back later in July. Crawford agreed to sign a contract with the Brooklyn Nets and will play with the team for the remainder of the season.

There’s been a lot of chatter around the basketball world about Crawford not playing in the league, and now he’s getting the opportunity yet again.

A look at Jamal Crawford’s NBA career

Crawford has had a successful career as a bench player. He’s arguably one of the best players in NBA history to come off the bench. His NBA career started in 2000 when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him with the eighth overall pick in the NBA draft, but he was then traded to the Chicago Bulls. He spent his four seasons in Chicago, and his numbers improved each year. During the 2003-04 season, he averaged 17.3 points per game, starting in 73 games for the Bulls. After his time in Chicago, he joined the New York Knicks. He continued to be productive and spent time in the starting lineup and coming off the bench.

During the 2007-08 season, he started and played in all 80 games for the first and only time in his career. That season he averaged 20.6 points, which was a career-high. After that season, he went back to being a bench player and offering a spark for the second unit. In 2010 he won the Sixth Man of the Year award for the first time in his career. During the 2009-10 season, he averaged 18 points coming off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks. He went on to win his second Sixth Man of the Year award after the 2013-14 season when he was playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 18.6 points per game that season. His third Sixth Man of the Year award came two seasons later during the 2015-16 season with the Clippers.

Throughout the league, Crawford has been known for his ball-handling abilities and playing with a lot of energy. He has also hit some big shots in his career. The Nets will be Crawford’s ninth team that he’s played with during his NBA career. When the 2019-20 season started, Crawford was not a member of a team. As the season went on, people started to wonder if he would be pick up by a team. He last played during the 2018-19 season with the Phoenix Suns and averaged 7.9 points in 64 games.

Can Jamal Crawford help the Brooklyn Nets?

At 40, Crawford appears to have something left in the tank. Age is not a factor for Crawford as he just wants to go out there and play his game. In the last NBA game that he played, he scored 51 points. He has a career average of 14.6 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Crawford is a professional scorer.

The Nets will certainly need his scoring for the NBA restart. In the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn is currently seventh and is a half-game ahead of the Orlando Magic, who hold the last playoff spot. Crawford will take full advantage of his time playing with the Nets, and he always plays to win the game.

The Brooklyn Nets are missing most of their team

The Nets will not have their full team when the season starts back up. Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, and Taurean Prince all tested positive for the coronavirus. So those three have been ruled out. With those players being ruled out, the Nets had roster spots to fill. With the Nets adding Crawford, they’ll have that veteran leadership and a player that can provide offense to the team.

The Nets will be fighting to stay in the playoff race, and it should be an interesting battle to see how everything plays off. One person that is glad to be back playing in the NBA is Crawford, and he will not disappoint.