Former Sixth Man of the Year Reaches Deal to Announce NBA Games on NBC

The network is getting a decorated new broadcaster.

Dec 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (20) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) at the AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-Imagn Images / Erich Schlegel-Imagn Images

Former three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year combo guard Jamal Crawford has been poached to serve as a commentator on NBC when its new contract with the league kicks off in 2025-26, sources inform Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Crawford's addition is the first new hire by the network, though the news is not yet official and the contracts have yet to be inked, Marchand indicates.

Crawford had spent several years working with TNT Sports and NBA TV prior to this offseason's announced new agreement for the league's broadcast rights. Turner Sports (the parent company of TNT and NBA TV, which had the right of first refusal) is stunningly losing its broadcast deal with the league after botched negotiations with the NBA and Warner Discovery (the parent company of Turner Sports) CEO David Zaslav resulted in the end of a four-decade partnership. Instead, distribution will be split between Disney (via ABC and ESPN), Amazon Prime and NBCUniversal (via NBC and its streaming platform, Peacock).

Crawford, who played for the New York Knicks from 2004-09, has been serving as a local broadcaster for some New York games this year.

Marchand adds that a former mortal enemy to the Knicks, Hall of Fame ex-Indiana Pacers shooting guard Reggie Miller, is also being considered by NBC. He's currently a commentator for TNT. Marchand calls talks "ongoing," but notes that no deal is in place just yet.

NBC and Peacock agreed to an 11-year contract worth almost $27 billion over the summer. The network's top announcers are expected to be Mike Tirico, who formerly called NBA games for ESPN and Noah Eagle. Marchand notes that NBC/Peacock will most likely look for "at least four broadcast teams." Peacock will enjoy exclusive broadcast rights to Monday games, while the network will also get to broadcast national contests on Tuesdays.

Crawford was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft out of the University of Michigan. The expert marksman enjoyed a prolific 20-year pro career, suiting up for the Chicago Bulls, Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, L.A. Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and finally the Brooklyn Nets — the latter for just one game in the 2020 Orlando bubble.

The 6-foot-5 swingman finished among the top 14 vote recipients for Sixth Man of the Year honors a whopping nine times, and won the honor with the Hawks and Clippers three times (twice with the Clippers. Across 1,327 career regular season games (433 starts), Crawford boasts career averages of 14.6 points on .410/.348/.862 shooting splits, 3.4 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 steals a night.

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