In this episode of The Draymond Green Show, host Draymond Green interviews veteran NBA guard Jamal Crawford about his deep commitment to giving back to the Seattle basketball community. Crawford explains that a lesson from his sister—"if you get money or fame, you become a bigger version of who you already are"—shaped his lifelong habit of generosity. He recounts early influences like Doug Christie, who introduced him to professional‑level training tools (foam rollers, ankle weights) and modeled a mentorship mindset. Crawford describes how those experiences motivated him to mentor the next generation, from local high‑school standouts (Terrence Williams, Kevin Porter Jr., Dejounte Murray) to rising NBA stars such as Paolo Banchero, Zach LaVine, and DeJounte Murray. He details his Pro‑Am events in Seattle, the tight‑knit ecosystem of players supporting each other, and the cultural factors that make Seattle a talent hotbed—constant indoor practice due to rain, community centers, and a “no crab‑in‑the‑bucket” mentality. Crawford also shares anecdotes of acting as a “big brother” during the Pro‑Am, mediating competitive tensions between young stars, and emphasizing that success is measured not only by NBA careers but also by the positive impact on the community. The conversation highlights the reciprocal nature of mentorship, the importance of role models, and how a collaborative culture sustains Seattle’s basketball pipeline.
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And being from Seattle, the way that you've given back to that community and how strong the basketball presence is there. You know, when you talking Rainier Beach, your high school, you, Terrence Williams, Kevin Porter Jr., Dejounte Murray, like the pipeline. You go back, you start a Pro-Am in Seattle, like, and everything that you trying to give back, where does that come from? I know Seattle's a hotbed for talent, But where does like you wanting to give so much back to that community come from? 'Cause I think it's honorable what you do in the community.
I appreciate that. I think my sister told me something a long time ago, and this when I was a kid. She said, "If you ever come into money or fame, whatever it is, you become a bigger version of what you already were." So if you were an asshole, you gonna be a bigger asshole 'cause you got more money. If you were a giver, you gonna give more because you have more access to give. And so for me, I didn't try to live up to that, but she kind of explained to me what I was feeling, what I was thinking. When I didn't have nothing and I had $10, if I saw someone on the street, we had nothing, I'd give them, you know, 5 of it and be like, "I'll figure it out later." That's just always been in me. And so fast forward when I had the opportunity to see the impact it could have, you know what I mean? And Doug Christie did it for me. I don't deserve all the credit. He did it for me. And I used to work out with him. And he'd be like, "Man, come work out with me." I didn't have his phone number, Dray. I didn't have his phone number. I didn't have no contact. I never asked him for a dollar. I just wanted what he had so bad. I said, "Just teach me. Just like show me how to be a pro." He was the first person I seen wearing ankle weights training or having a foam roller. This is back in '96. He had a foam roller.
Wow.
Handheld foam roller. And so I'm like, "Oh, that's what pros doing. Okay, they're in the best shape. They take care of themselves." Right? And so I'm looking at all these things and collecting data. And for me, that was everything. It changed my life. So I said, you know what? If I make it, I'm gonna do the same thing for the next one. And that next one was B-Roy. That next one was Isaiah, or Nate, or Terrence, or Kevin Porter, or DeJounte, or Paulo, or Rodney Stucker, whoever it is. And all of them didn't make it to the NBA. And I take just as much pride in those dudes too, because they became successful citizens in whatever they chased, whatever dreams they chased. And so I knew it changed my life, and I knew I wanted to have that impact. And now they're doing it. Zach LaVine, as a kid in 9th grade, you can call him. They say, "Can you break down this film for me?" Or, "Can I work out with you?" Right, and those things are life-changing. You know, so I just think that's what makes it different. It's not the crab in the bucket mentality, it's more kind of ecosystem we create.
I think that's incredible, man. You sitting here naming all these guys. I don't think, like, when you start talking of, you know, LA, Seattle, Chicago, and you say, put a team together from those cities, New York, Michigan.
Michigan.
Michigan is like, when you put a team together from Seattle just by itself, that team probably can compete with any team you could put together in the NBA. Where does that come from? Like how does Seattle become that in basketball to where y'all just spewing out talent like that?
That damn rain, Dave. When we out there, we in the gym, you know, it's always raining up in Seattle. It's always, you know, what outside. So we definitely just in the gym all the time. We locked in the gym. And for Apollo specifically, I'll use him as an example because he's the last one. He walked the same streets. He was in the same community center. So it was nothing for him to see us all in the summer run. Come on, jump in the run. You know what I mean? Like, bro, I had one run. I had DeJounte, Kyrie Irving, Zach Lavine, Matisse Thybulle, Spencer Hawes, Mr. late, great Bill Russell, the icon on the side watching. I got a young Paulo Banchero playing at 16 years old in this run. So for him, it was nothing to see these things and be exposed to it. And then take it further, my son, my nephew can be like, "Man, I know, forget you guys. That's Paulo, that's the high school star. I can accomplish that one day. He's reachable." And Paulo understands that all of us understand our responsibility. So—
Yeah.
We all support each other. Like if DeJounte got a backpack giveaway, 10 of us are going. If Nate Robinson has a bowling tournament, 10 of us are going. Like, and that's just what it is. I think that's what makes it special. When I was in Chicago, Tim Hardaway was over here, Mike Finley was over here, Draymond Green was over here. I saw 'em in the gym together, but I didn't, me personally, I didn't see too much else where they really were collabing on stuff. And that's what we do.
Now that's incredible.— at your Pro-Am this summer, Dejounte, who is very prideful and—
Woo-wee!
I mean, extremely prideful. I love Dejounte, man.
He's a guard version of you with that pride. He's the same cloth, same cloth.
Hey, I love Dejounte. When I first saw him as a rookie, I'm watching him play and I went up to him after the game and I said, "Yo, we couldn't stop you." The only thing that I could do to stop you was just sag off. Work on your jump shot, young fella. You work on your jump shot, you gonna be an all-star in this league. And I'll never forget that. And we've built a relationship that like, I am close to Dejounte. I'm only close to a few guys in this league like I'm close to Dejounte. Like I got so much love for him and love seeing him doing well. When he made all-star last year, I felt like that was my first time making all-star.
Yeah.
But at the Pro-Am this summer, he and Paulo and Dejounte being as prideful as he is, you come in this league, you the number one pick, I need to see that. And they had their thing, it spews over to social media. Did you have to step into that as the big brother once it spews over to social media and talk to them like, hey man, we ain't doing that, we gonna compete. At the same time, we gotta have each other back because that's how you keep that pipeline and that tightness going.
What you just said was the exact message. I'll tell you a funny story. I was in Dallas, I was coaching my son and coaching the kids. And my phone, I'm on the plane and my phone is like text messages going crazy. Man, they got into it, this, this, and that. You gonna have to J Prince this and step in. I'm like, man, look, they gonna be fine. And I gave, I talked to both of them the exact same way, the same message you said. And they both felt how they felt 'cause they're both competitive. But at the end of the day, kudos to both of 'em 'cause they understood the big picture and what we've all created. Like we've all played a part in making this place something special. You know, 'cause we're not like other cities where sometimes you root for a dude, but you don't root for him to do better than you. You know what I mean? You know what I'm talking about.
Yeah, absolutely.
Y'all root for him, but I ain't rooting for him that much. You know what I mean? And it's different up here. And so they understood the big picture, they worked through it. And to see both of them, you got an all-star in DeJounte, a future All-Star Apollo, and a whole generation of kids following both of them. And those two have led with that responsibility. It's unbelievable. As a big brother to both of them, I love to see— yeah, we can have differences. That's what big brothers and little brothers do. That's what we do. That's just what it is. But we can work through it and continue to move forward and push the culture forward.
What's up, everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to The Volume's YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward.
