Jamal Crawford Keeps It Grounded After “Crazy” Kyrie Irving Comparison From Ex-Teammate

When people think of the Clippers’ “Lob City” era, the aerial theatrics of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan often take center stage. But the team’s magic also came from slick ball movement and perimeter creativity, a role Jamal Crawford thrived in as their ultimate spark plug. That’s why a recent comparison between Crawford and Kyrie Irving, the modern master of dazzling handles and improvisation, caught so much attention. And while the idea of Kyrie in Lob City is a favorite fan fantasy, Crawford’s response will win hearts.

It all began when Crawford’s former TNT colleague, Candace Parker, and her co-host, Aliyah Boston, dove into a debate about the NBA’s best ball-handlers. Two names rose to the top without hesitation—Kyrie Irving and Jamal Crawford. For Crawford, the mention was flattering enough. But true to form, the ever-humble guard—and outspoken admirer of Kyrie—took it as an honor. Wasting no time, he hopped on Instagram to thank Parker and former teammate Blake Griffin for the love.

“When the GREATS of the game say you brought something to the game, it means way more!!” he wrote and added a Post Moves plug-in at the end, “Tap into the @postmovesshow , and all the great basketball conversations they’re having! 🔥🔥🔥” You see the respect, as humble as it could get. But what exactly had him this honored?

It started when Candace Parker said, “Jamal Crawford, he invented moves.” Griffin is an eyewitness. The former Clippers player first talked about the current players with good handles, like that of Payton Pritchard. He is often highlighted for his intense ball-handling drills and impressive control, showcasing a handle that stands out. Still, Kyrie Irving remains on another level, widely regarded for having one of the most extraordinary handles in basketball. And the comparison? Mic drop for Jamal. “And I would put Kyrie more in the Jamal category but like, that’s just like a ‘go out and hoop’ handle.”

As Parker confirmed, Irving and Crawford aren’t the kind of ball handlers who demonstrate their skills in a cone drill. Blake testified, he’s never even seen Crawford take those drills seriously.

Jamal Crawford’s unscripted handles

Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford were teammates from 2012 to 2017, both arguably in their best years on the Los Angeles Clippers. With Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, the Lob City tandem was full of flashy, creative plays that couldn’t be recreated.

The Raptors never had an answer to the double alley-oop that Griffin and Crawford orchestrated. And some of us aren’t over that 2013 Bucks game when Crawford moved the ball between his legs, threw it at the rim, and Griffin leaped to dunk with a windmill, winning it 117-101. The crazy part? They never practiced these moves beforehand.

At least Griffin told Parker, “I never saw Jamal do ball-handling drills unless it was like that, you know that warmup stuff that we do like before training camp, where you’re like, ‘all right, everybody, pound to the right, cross to the left.’ Like it’s the only time you see Jamal do like a ball-handling workout. His handle was just like.. and was also very creative. Like he was doing stuff that like people weren’t doing so… “

He again mentioned Kyrie Irving to say, “Kyrie’s kind of the same way where you just kind of like watch, and you’re like how? What? Like, what was that? Like, I couldn’t, you can’t recreate those things. You just have that thing that they have.”

A year ago, Crawford tweeted, “I don’t care how some try and cut it- but Kyrie Irving is one of the best players to EVER touch a basketball.” So you know how much it means to him to be equated to Irving. But several fans agreed with Griffin. The official Post Moves Show handle commented, “A real legend 🔥🔥❤️❤️” about Jamal Crawford. And even Lou Williams and Isaiah Thomas approved the message by liking it. But what does Kyrie think? We may have an answer sometime soon.