Now that the Nets have signed Jamal Crawford, Brooklyn’s roster features a pair of Michigan University guards, Caris LeVert being the other. But the two didn’t exactly come close to crossing paths while attending the Big Ten university.
A few months after Crawford was drafted No. 8 overall out of Michigan in the 2000 NBA Draft, LeVert was celebrating his sixth birthday. Sixteen years later, LeVert was the 20th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Levert got to watch Crawford develop in the NBA as he put together his own impressive resume. Along the way, the Ohio native grew to appreciate Crawford’s game immensely, as LeVert expressed on a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post:
When I was kid, [Crawford] was my favorite player. When I went to Michigan, he reached out and we’ve been big brother/little brother ever since. I can’t wait to get him here.
Crawford told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast he’s excited to go to work with LeVert, as well. He likes the idea of the young guy being the face of the Nets in the bubble.
But Crawford doesn’t expect LeVert to stop thriving after the Disney restart. He has high expectations for the fellow former Michigan guard:
Love his game, always have loved his game. I thought that he would’ve been an All-Star the year he got hurt, to be honest with you. But he was playing lights out. He’s so humble, he has so much ability. He loves the game, a student of the game, he always wants to get better. But that humility and that love and that drive he has for the game, he could be one of the greats in the game for a long time.