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20-Year NBA Veteran, Ex-Bulls Player Would Have Played for Team USA in Olympic 3x3

Former NBA star and Chicago Bulls first round pick Jamal Crawford would have played for Team USA in 3x3 Basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Joey Linn

Apr 5, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford (11) shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Apr 5, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jamal Crawford (11) shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
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USA Basketball turned in a perfect record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S. Men's Basketball Team went undefeated en route to a gold medal game victory over France, and the Women's Team did the same, pushing their Olympic winning streak to 61 games.

While Team USA dominated basketball at the Paris Olympics, their 3x3 Basketball teams had less success. The U.S. Women's 3x3 Team won a bronze medal in Paris, but the Men's Team did not medal at all.

This led to many wondering why a country with so much basketball talent did not have better players in this event.

In a post on X, one fan asked former NBA star Jamal Crawford why he did not play for Team USA in 3x3 Basketball.

"That opportunity wasn’t there for me," Crawford responded. I would’ve for sure!!"

Crawford played 20 seasons in the NBA after being selected eighth-overall by the Chicago Bulls (via Cleveland Cavaliers) in the 2000 NBA draft.

Spending four seasons in Chicago, Crawford was traded to the New York Knicks in 2004. Crawford won his first of an NBA-record three Sixth Man of the Year awards in 2006 with New York.

While Crawford is now 44 years old and retired from the NBA, he had 51 points at age 39 in the final game of the 2018-19 regular season:

Crawford made just one more NBA appearance after this game, playing six minutes for the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season that saw a lot of different players occupy roster spots due to the pandemic.

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Joey Linn

JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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