Tassie glory to new territory: What's next for Crawford?

When Jordon Crawford scored 19 points in the opening quarter of the NBL24 Championship Series decider, his place in Tasmanian folklore was secured.

Relegated to the bench for large periods of the JackJumpers’ Finals campaign, Crawford stepped up when it mattered most, etching his name in the history books as a Championship winner.

Players like that don’t come around often, and while his next opportunity might not be at the JackJumpers, Derek Rucker and Damon Lowery believe Crawford still has a huge role to play in the league.

“Man, the human plutonium – he's over there being plutonic. The guy just scores at will,” Lowery said.

“I miss him already, but Tasmania is not a good fit for Jordon.

“Jordon came here and got a championship with them, but you can tell with the narrative they’re going to go with Sean Macdonald, fair enough, and they’re probably bringing back Milton Doyle.

“I don't think it's a good spot for either party for him to go back there.”

After missing the Finals altogether last year, Rucker believes it's time for a fresh start for Crawford.

“Cairns or Brisbane. Either one of those teams could do worse than looking at Jordon Crawford very seriously for NBL26,” Rucker said.

“This is a guy with championship pedigree. He loves the game, he's great with the fans, and he can score the basketball.”

“I think that would be an ideal spot,” Lowery said of a potential role in Cairns. “A guy that can get up and down and just turn it out on a nightly basis.”

>> Check out the full Derek v Damon feature on the NBL App this Wednesday afternoon.

Currently dominating in Turkey during the off-season, Crawford has averaged 16.1 points a game to go with 3.7 assists, in 65 appearances in Tasmania.

“I think he has more leadership. I think there's more to Jordon Crawford than what we're always able to see, given the structure of the Tasmania JackJumpers,” Rucker added.

“I just think we could see a guy who could flirt with an All-NBL Second Team award at the end of the season in the right place, where he can get out there and do his thing.”

Wherever Crawford ends up, he’s a proven winner and a proven performer. That’s something that’s not always easy to find on the Free Agency market.