Former NBA player Jamal Crawford is stepping down from his role as an analyst at TNT Sports, according to Brendon Kleen of Awful Announcing.
Reports indicate that Warner Bros. Discovery extended an invitation for Crawford to return for what seems to be its concluding season airing NBA games. The network lost its chance to be included in the NBA’s new media rights agreement, with ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon Prime taking over starting with the 2025-26 season. Currently, Warner Bros. Discovery/TNT is in a legal battle with the NBA to keep its broadcast rights, although many believe it may not succeed.
Crawford teamed up with Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller in TNT’s leading broadcast team. He joins NBA insider Chris Haynes as one of the significant figures in TNT broadcasts who are reportedly leaving the network, with more departures anticipated soon.
“Warner Bros. Discovery made Crawford an offer to come back for what is likely to be TNT’s last season airing the NBA, according to sources, but Crawford opted to explore other opportunities amidst a significant change in NBA broadcasting ahead of a new rights agreement starting in 2025,” Kleen reported.
At 44 years old, Crawford played in the NBA from 2000 to 2020 and is renowned as one of the greatest sixth men in league history. He was chosen as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft and has received the Sixth Man of the Year award three times.
Crawford was first selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers but went on to play for various teams including the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Brooklyn Nets, representing nearly a third of the league’s franchises.
Throughout his career, he averaged 14.6 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.2 rebounds over 1,327 games.
“Earlier this year, TNT filed a lawsuit against the NBA after it failed to match the broadcasting offers from Amazon and NBC, which means the end of an era for the NBA on TNT,” Kleen noted. “However, this could provide analysts like Crawford the opportunity to choose from a variety of positions across the new networks as well as ESPN, which has renewed its agreement with the NBA, and the numerous emerging digital media startups.”
