James Crawford is a former professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player who played most of his career in the National Basketball League

National Basketball League (Australia)

The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

 of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 from 1982 through till the 1998/99 season.

Prior to coming to Australia in 1981, Crawford attended Livingston University and Cumberland College

University of the Cumberlands

University of the Cumberlands is a private, liberal arts college located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, with an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students...

 in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

.

During his NBL career, the "Alabama Slamma" played for the Geelong Supercats

Geelong Supercats

The Geelong Supercats are an Australian basketball team, based in the Victorian City of Geelong, that currently plays in the Australian Basketball Association and previously played in the National Basketball League.-NBL History:...

 (1982–1985), the Canberra Cannons

Canberra Cannons

The Canberra Cannons were a basketball team competing in the Australian National Basketball League. They went into financial administration in 2003 and were relocated to Newcastle, where they became the Hunter Pirates...

 (1986, 2003) and the Perth Wildcats

Perth Wildcats

The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League. The Wildcats are the only team in the league representing the state of Western Australia and are based in the state capital, Perth...

 (1987–1999). He played in a total of 504 NBL games, 371 of them for the Wildcats and currently sits third on the list of all time NBL scorers with 11,121 points, scoring at an average of 22 per game. He also sits third on the NBL all time rebound list with 4,794 (9.5 per game) and second in blocked shots with 788 (1.5 per game).

Relatively small for a starting Centre

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

, the 6'8" (203 cm) Crawford was an integral part of the Perth Wildcats three NBL Championships during the 1990s (1990, 1991 and 1995) combining with team mates Tiny Pinder, Ricky Grace

Ricky Grace

Ricky Ray Grace is an American/Australian professional basketball player who played in the Australian National Basketball League from 1990 until the 2004/2005 season.- Playing career :...

 and Andrew Vlahov

Andrew Vlahov

Andrew Mitchell Vlahov is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League of Australia from 1991 through till the 2001/2002 season...

 to be part of the most successful team of the decade. He was also selected to the NBL's All First Team

NBL (Australia) All NBL teams

-NBL First Teams:* 1980 Cal Stamp, Danny Morseu, Brian Banks, Herb McEachin, Ian Davies and Ken Richardson* 1981 Rocky Smith, Danny Morseu, Al Green, David Nelson and Owen Wells* 1982 George Morrow, James Crawford, Leroy Loggins, Phil Smyth and Larry Sengstock...

 four times (1982, 83, 84 and 87) and was selected to the NBL's 20th Anniversary Team

NBL (Australia) 20th Anniversary Team

In celebration of its twentieth anniversary, a special 20th anniversary team was named by Australia's National Basketball League in 1998.* = active at the time the team was named-See also:* National Basketball League...

 in 1998 and the NBL's 25th Anniversary Team

NBL (Australia) 25th Anniversary Team

To mark its 25th anniversary during the 2003-2004 season, the National Basketball League announced its 25th Anniversary All-Time team on December 9, 2003...

 in 2004. In addition, Crawford was also often an automatic selection to the NBL All-Star Game

NBL (Australia) All-Star Game

The NBL All-Star Game is a special event basketball game run as part of the Australian National Basketball League. The All-Star game is usually held once a season between two teams composed of star players from that season. The first NBL All-Star Game was held in 1988 and was held every season...

 due to his outstanding play.

Despite retiring due to injury in 1999, Crawford suited up in one more NBL match for the Canberra Cannons in 2002/03.

He currently resides in Perth with his family.

NBL records

• First in blocks per game in 1983 (3.1/22 games)
• First in field goal percentage in 1987 (62.6% 386/616)
• 13 40+ point games

Trivia

• His #7 jersey is one of five jerseys that have been retired by the Wildcats and is displayed at Challenge Stadium
  Challenge Stadium
  Challenge Stadium is a sports complex in the suburb of Mount Claremont, west of Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It was opened in 1986 and is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport. The main indoor arena holds 4,500 people...
  
  during Wildcats home games.