Kobe Bryant: Jamal Crawford Should Be the Sixth Man of the Year

Now with the Los Angeles Clippers, Jamal Crawford continues to be a scoring threat off-the-bench, as the 32-year-old is currently averaging 16.5 points per game. Crawford looks to play a big role on Friday night when the Clippers take on the Los Angeles Lakers, with head-to-head match-up against the Kobe Bryant. Crawford has been impressive this season and was able to get some acknowledgement from the Black Mamba, as Bryant says Crawford should end up being this season’s Sixth Man of the Year. “He gets my nomination for sixth man of the year,” Bryant told the Los Angeles Times. It’s a pretty good endorsement for Crawford, as he’s been putting up a solid average of points per game in just 29 minutes of playing time. His huge play off-the-bench helped fuel the Clips to a 17-game win-streak just recently, which is why the team stands at 25-8 currently. The crazy thing about Crawford, however, is that despite his strong play throughout his career, the 12-year pro has never made it to an All-Star game in his career. “It’s tough to be an All-Star in the Western Conference,” Bryant said. “I mean, there’s a lot of great guards playing extremely well.” Crawford has won the Sixth Man award before, which was back in 2010 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks. We’ll see if Crawford can get himself into All-Star weekend, as he still has a full month to prove himself before the big event begins in Houston. Having some help here from Kobe, who leads the NBA in the voting, can definitely improve Crawford’s chances.