Former Heat Player Jae Crowder In Position For Second Straight NBA Finals Appearance

Former Miami Heat forward Jae Crowder heard from many doubters when he decided to sign with the Phoenix Suns last offseason. 

“And when I made the decision," Crowder said. "you should have saw how many text messages I got, like, ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Why you going to Phoenix, they haven’t made the playoffs in 10 years?’”

Now, Crowder is feeling pretty good about the decision to join the Suns, who are in the Western Conference finals. The Heat, meanwhile, were eliminated in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks. 

“I look like a genius, huh?” Crowder said. “I know I look like a genius a little bit with my decision."

Crowder has given the Suns another veteran voice in the locker room. He is averaging 11.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in the postseason. He said he felt he would be a perfect fit for the Suns.

“I just knew what type of group these guys were,” he said in the wake of Sunday night’s series-clinching victory in Denver. “I felt like they were hungry. They wanted to do some special things and I just wanted to be a part of it.

“And I honestly feel like it’s all coming together for us, for not only myself, but for our team and for our organization, because everybody’s on the same page. We’re all fighting for the same goal. I mean, you’ve got a lot of selfless guys on our team and you see how we play each and every night. We play for one another.”