The greatest shot that never counted: Jae Crowder’s illegal buzzer-beating full-court heave

The Celtics lost the game, but it was one heck of a way to go out.

With 1.1 seconds left on the clock, Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder knew he needed a miracle. So, he dialed the basketball gods up for a special favor, and heaved the ball more than 94 feet across the court only to have the shot go in. If you are confused why the sentence you just read ended in “only to see the shot go in,” we get it.

But Crowder, a former Marquette standout, wasn’t trying to accomplish a long distance Hail Mary. Instead, the Celtics swingman was trying to bank the ball off the backboard, allowing a teammate located under the basket to tip the ball in for an unlikely victory.

The win eluded Boston and Crowder that night, but the full-court heave that went in as an illegal basket (it was not a shot but an entry pass, effectively) is easily, in our opinion, the greatest shot that never counted.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b6El4FFyrRg

Take a look at the clip embedded above to see it for yourself.

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On this day: Boston forward Jae Crowder born; guard Allan Ray signed

On this day in 1990, former Boston Celtics small forward Jae Crowder was born, and ex-Boston guard Allan Ray was signed in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Jae Crowder was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, in 1990 to former NBA player Corey Crowder and his wife, Helen Thompson. Crowder went on to play his college ball at Marquette University in the Big East Conference after stints at Howard University and South Georgia Tech.

From there, the Georgia native was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 34th pick of the 2012 NBA draft. The former Golden Eagle came to Boston in a 2014 trade with the Mavericks along with Jameer Nelson and Brandan Wright in exchange for Dwight Powell and Rajon Rondo.

Crowder played three seasons with the Celtics, averaging 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while with the team.

On this day: Rondo traded for Crowder; most team assists in ’85

On this day, the Celtics traded Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks for Jae Crowder, and Boston logged 46 assists against Dallas, their most ever.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise traded champion point guard Rajon Rondo and center Dwight Powell to the Dallas Mavericks in 2014 in exchange for small forward Jae Crowder, point guard Jameer Nelson, big man Brandan Wright, draft assets, and a $13 million trade exception.

The move finally brought to an end the last remaining player from the team’s 2008 NBA title tenure with the franchise, Rondo having been with the Celtics since the Phoenix Suns drafted him out of Kentucky with the 21st overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft and dealt him to Boston on draft night.

Powell was a more recent arrival, having come over in the deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Keith Bogans in September of that year.

Everything we know about the Giannis Antetokounmpo game ball drama, the silliest sports saga of the year

This was all such a massive misunderstanding.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 64 points during a victory over the Indiana Pacers, then chaos ensued.

According to league insider Chris Haynes, the Pacers “took the game ball away” after the performance from the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo then “took off” toward the Pacers locker room to try to retrieve the ball back from the franchise he had just defeated.

But there is more to the story and plenty to unpack with this situation.

So we did our best to gather all the information and put that together in a way that will make some sense.

Based on the reporting we have gathered, here is everything we know:

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 99

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 99 jersey for at least one game as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history tied to them. In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, the unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league.

To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on No. 99 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Reggie Lewis dies; Brown, Rozier, Green, Crowder signed

On this day, former Celtics forward Reggie Lewis died unexpectedly while working out due to a heart arrhythmia.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, rising franchise star Reggie Lewis would die unexpectedly after collapsing on a basketball court at Brandeis University while working out in the offseason in 1993.

Lewis, who had previously been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after another on-court collapse during the prior season, passed away after attempts by local police to resuscitate the Northeastern product were not successful. The 22nd overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft for the Celtics, Lewis was widely seen as a critical part of Boston’s future, and the bridge to a successful future after the Larry Bird – Kevin McHale – Robert Parish era.

Along with the loss of forward Len Bias in 1986, this was a major contributing cause to the team’s ‘wilderness era’ of mediocrity that would last more than a decade.

On this day: Boston forward Jae Crowder born; guard Allan Ray signed

On this day in 1990, former Boston Celtics small forward Jae Crowder was born, and ex-Boston guard Allan Ray was signed in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Jae Crowder was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, in 1990 to former NBA player Corey Crowder and his wife, Helen Thompson. Crowder went on to play his college ball at Marquette University in the Big East Conference after stints at Howard University and South Georgia Tech.

From there, the Georgia native was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 34th pick of the 2012 NBA draft. The former Golden Eagle came to Boston in a 2014 trade with the Mavericks along with Jameer Nelson and Brandan Wright in exchange for Dwight Powell and Rajon Rondo.

Crowder played three seasons with the Celtics, averaging 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while with the team.

Bucks’ Jae Crowder listed as ‘sleeper’ free agency target for Bulls

Milwaukee Bucks forward Jae Crowder could be a potential free agency target for the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls need to make serious changes to their roster this summer. They may be better off resetting the roster and rebuilding, but Arturas Karnisovas wants to retain the current core. He is intent on competing for a playoff spot, which means the Bulls will have to add talent around Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.

Addressing their needs at the point guard position and adding big man depth are top priorities, but the Bulls also need help at the forward position. Outside of Patrick Williams, Derrick Jones Jr., and DeRozan, they don’t have forwards on the roster. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report thinks they could go after a 32-year-old veteran.

Buckley suggested that the Bulls target Jae Crowder in free agency this summer, listing him as a “sleeper” target for Chicago.

“They still need a versatile, big wing defender, and the 6’6″, 235-pounder checks that box,” Buckley wrote. “Buoyed by a combination of length, strength, quickness and energy, he can handle most defensive assignments thrown his direction.”

In addition, Buckley thinks Crowder’s history as a solid three-point shooter could help the Bulls.

“They also need reliable shooters, and he typically lands somewhere between average and above,” Buckley wrote. “His career 34.8 three-point percentage is fine, but the fact that he has cleared 38 percent in two of the past three seasons is what could really entice this front office.”

Depending on the price, adding Crowder to the roster could be a huge win for the Bulls as they look to field a competitive group next year.

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Five Boston Celtics shifting position in 2012 NBA redraft

From big man Fab Melo (rest in peace) to veteran wing Jae Crowder, the Celtics were well-represented in this redraft.

The folks over at our sister site of Hoops Hype have been putting together redrafts of many of the league’s recent drafts, and the most recent edition for the 2012 NBA draft has been published by Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon, who have reassessed what all 30 teams did in that year’s big uptake event for the Association.

And in that H/H reassessment, a number of Boston Celtics alumni ended up on the move, with some moving up considerably and others falling out of the draft altogether. From big man Fab Melo (rest in peace) to veteran wing Jae Crowder, the Celtics were well-represented in this redraft.

Let’s take a look at who ended up where.

HoopsHype: Bucks’ Jae Crowder wasn’t interested in staying with the Nets past the trade deadline

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Jae Crowder had no intentions of staying in Brooklyn.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Jae Crowder had no intentions of sticking with the Brooklyn Nets past the NBA trade deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. After sitting out most of this season due to wanting a trade away from the Phoenix Suns, Crowder came to the Nets by way of the Kevin Durant trade.

However, since Brooklyn was heading in a different direction because of their trades of Kyrie Irving and Durant, Crowder was eventually sent to the Bucks as part of a four-team deal involving the Suns, Bucks, Nets, and the Indiana Pacers. According to HoopsHype, once Crowder and the Suns decided that it was best for him to be away from the team while Phoenix looked for a trade, the former Marquette Golden Eagle wanted to get to Milwaukee however possible.

Interestingly enough, Crowder faced the Nets on Tuesday as a member of the Bucks. In Milwaukee’s 118-104 win, Crowder had two points, two rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes of action. Crowder talked to HoopsHype after the game to give the details on why he didn’t want to stay in Brooklyn:

“Honestly, I think this situation was so far along in the negotiation talks that I was destined to be here (Milwaukee). I was trying to get here. That’s what it was. It had nothing to do with their organization (Brooklyn) or team. I just felt like I was so far along in the negotiation period that I was talking to these guys (Bucks) for months. I wanted this situation to go down because I knew my role, and I didn’t want to go to a different situation without a role.”

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