Jamal Crawford says his highest-scoring game happened because Kobe Bryant watched him courtside: "I got to go crazy"
Jamal Crawford was one of the greatest walking buckets to ever play in the NBA. He is the oldest player in NBA history to score 50 points. He is also the only player in league history to score 50 points with four different teams.
Jamal's NBA career-high in points scored was 52 points, which he achieved on January 26, 2007, against the Miami Heat while he was playing for the New York Knicks. But that was not his highest-scoring game ever. That big night happened in the summer of 2014 at his own CrawsOver Pro-Am League in Seattle. And he says it happened because he had a special guest watching on the sidelines - Kobe Bryant.
"That was my highest-scoring game ever since we rebranded the Pro-Am," said Crawford during his recent appearance on Austin Rivers' "Eye for the Game" podcast. "And it only happened cuz he was there. And there's a spirit of like, 'I gotta be special.' I got to go crazy, so 63 and the game-winner."
Kobe canceled an appointment to watch Jamal play
In another interview, Crawford talked about how he bumped into Kobe in a celebrity softball game in Seattle. That same night, he had a game in the Seattle Pro-Am league, which he bought and rebranded as the CrawsOver Pro-Am.
So he thought of inviting Bryant to come over, although he wasn't sure Kobe would say yes. Crawford said that when he asked Bryant, the only question that the Lakers guard asked was if he would play. When Jamal said yes, Kobe told him he was coming.
As the story goes, Bryant was supposed to fly back to Los Angeles that night because he had an appointment for Nike. But he told the Nike rep to move his schedule because he was going to watch Jamal play. And since he was in Seattle with the entire family, Kobe took Vanessa and his girls to Jamal's game.
"Other people were at the game. Gary Payton is there. There are a bunch of people are at the game. But it was Kobe. It was Kobe. He walks out on the court like Michael Jackson. My sister's like, 'Man, look at him,' Just shining, bro. I'm like, 'Oh my God,' he added.Jamal balled out with Kobe watching
Before Kobe entered the gym, it was Jamal himself who introduced his special guest to the full house crowd that was in attendance. And Crawford went on to call Kobe "this generation's Michael Jordan and one of our favorites players ever" before the Black Mamba made his grand entrance, to the loud cheers of the crowd who chanted his name.
With Kobe and GP watching the game, Crawford literally put on a show. After scoring 22 in the first two-quarters of play, he erupted for 41 in the second half, including the game-winning three-point basket at the buzzer.
The score was 115-114 with 6.3 seconds left and Crawford's team trailing by a solitary point. They got the ball in Jamal's hands, and with time winding down, he pulled up from the parking lot and nonchalantly drilled a long three-pointer to give his team a dramatic win.
More than his greatest scoring game, Crawford also said that he and Bryant started to build a friendship because of that day. A year after that, Jamal said Kobe reached out to him to ask for full details on his quickness, agility and recovery drills. Of course, he obliged, not only to repay a favor, but it was an honor for him to do so.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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