Jamal Crawford says he turned down three NBA coaching opportunities this summer but remains certain that he will eventually become an NBA head coach.
Speaking on Cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, Crawford revealed that he received three offers involving NBA assistant positions and a head-coaching process during the offseason. He declined all three because of his son’s basketball commitments.
“I 1,000% know I’m going to be an NBA coach one day,” Crawford said. “And I’ve never said that publicly. I just know it. I literally turned down three NBA jobs this summer.”
Crawford explained that his son made the USA national team and that the family was in Turkey while he considered the opportunities. He said one of the possibilities involved going through the process of interviewing for an NBA head-coaching position.
“So my son made USA, so we’re in Turkey, and I got three offers between assistants and actually going through the process of being a head coach for one of them this summer,” Crawford said.
The former NBA guard said the timing was not right because he wanted to remain involved in his son’s development. Crawford expects that decision to change once his son completes high school.
“And I was like, no, just the timing, because he is going through his journey,” Crawford said. “But I know 1,000% once he goes through high school, I’ll be an NBA coach. No doubt about it.”
Crawford retired after the 2019-20 season following a 20-year NBA career. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year played 1,327 regular-season games for the Bulls, Knicks, Warriors, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Suns and Nets.
He finished his career with averages of 14.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game while shooting 41.0% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range. Crawford scored 19,419 regular-season points and remains one of the NBA’s most prolific bench scorers.
His coaching ambitions come after years of post-playing involvement in basketball through media work, player development and analysis. Crawford has also remained connected to the NBA through his work as a broadcaster and analyst, giving him opportunities to discuss offensive systems, player roles and the evolution of the game.
