Jamal Crawford has to tone down his pleasure whereas calling video games for NBC

What Jamal Crawford is about to inform you, he hasn’t even instructed his broadcast companions Mike Tirico and Reggie Miller but.

Crawford, who performed 20 years within the NBA, is now a colour commentator for NBC Sports and has been calling playoff video games with Tirico and Miller, together with the thrilling second-round matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And Crawford has been sprinkling in a secret catchphrase nobody has caught on to but.

“You know what? I have one, and during these playoffs you will hear it,” Crawford instructed NBC News final week when requested if he has ready a signature name for the postseason. “You’re the first person I’m telling I have one. Not even Mike and Reggie know this. When you hear it, you’ll know. I’ll give you a little hint: You’re going to hear something about a court.”

Keen listeners might or might not know Crawford’s catchphrase, however they’re probably effectively conscious of the keenness he brings to the published. After a protracted, storied profession wherein he performed for 9 groups, Crawford dipped his toe into the media waters starting in 2021, calling video games for NBA League Pass.

He joined TNT as a studio analyst in 2022 and finally began calling choose video games within the sales space for MSG Network in 2024 as a part of the New York Knicks’ native broadcast.

When the NBA returned to NBC this season, Crawford joined as one of many lead analysts. He hit it off with Tirico and Miller immediately. Within a half of calling a preseason sport collectively, he says, the trio already felt related.

“Reggie is a legend. I still learn and steal from him. Mike is the ultimate point guard. He sets everybody else up first, but he knows when to do his filay layup,” Crawford mentioned. “It’s an honor to sit with those guys, but we have a good crew all over the place.”

Calling video games is simply one of many methods Crawford stays near the game he loves. In addition to his work for NBC Sports, Crawford additionally narrates “Chasing History,” a behind-the-scenes digital documentary produced by the NBA. Crawford travels together with his microphone so he can document his voice-overs all through the playoffs.

“To be this close to the game is incredible,” mentioned Crawford, who additionally coaches AAU and works with school and professional gamers within the offseason. “But this brings a different connection. This, for me, is like what I heard in my childhood when Marv Albert was on a call, or Bob Costas, or Ahmad Rashad. I take such pride in it.”

Crawford, a self-described basketball nerd, mentioned he’s having a lot enjoyable calling video games that he usually finds himself having to tone it down through the broadcast.

“I’m coming straight from like, ‘Yo, I’m a fan. We are at the bar, I’m having my Sprite lemonade.’ I’m truly a fan of the game in the purest, truest sense.”

Once the second spherical ends, Crawford will shift his consideration to the Western Conference finals, which can be broadcast on NBC. Asked whom he’d wish to see within the NBA Finals, Crawford mentioned he’s curious what Madison Square Garden would sound like within the championship spherical. Crawford performed for the Knicks from 2004 to 2009, a interval once they by no means made the playoffs.

“Seeing the Knicks reach the Finals would be crazy. I know that fan base. They made it feel like the playoffs when we were terrible when I played there every single night. So I couldn’t imagine what Finals is like in New York.”