Guard Jordan Crawford (#15) drives against a Denver Nuggets defender during his stint with the NBA's Chicago Bulls. (Photo : Reuters)
Former NBA player Jordan Crawford was named as the Chinese Basketball Association's Player of the Week in the conclusion of the tournament's Round 28 games following his double-double explosion of 72 points and 16 rebounds during the Tianjin Gold Lions' 104-113 loss to the Sichuan Blue Whales on Friday last week.
The 27-year-old combo guard received the award as reported by Asia-Basket despite his team's defeat to the Blue Whales, who are leading the league together with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers having an identical 24-5 win-loss slate.
The Gold Lions are currently in 19th place, second from the bottom, in the league's overall standings with a 5-24 record after losing seven of their last eight matches.
Crawford, who last played in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors during the 2013-2014 season, has been one of the CBA's best scorers this season going into the aforementioned game, averaging "39.7 points in 29.5 field goals per game through 17 contests", as per Hoops Hype.
Tianjin is already out of playoff contention because of such a low record, but Crawford is still winning the adoration of Chinese fans, particularly those in Tianjin, because of his scoring outbursts.
The 72 points scored by Crawford is said to be the fourth highest scoring total in CBA history. The All-time CBA record is 82 points by Errick McCollum of the Zhejiang Golden Bulls during a 119-129 loss to the Guangdong Southern Tigers in January of last year.
After his scoring outburst, Crawford is now this CBA season's scoring leader, averaging 41.6 points per game.
Crawford was the 27th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. He played four seasons in the world's top basketball league, suiting up for the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics, and Golden State.
