You know about the Drew League. You know about the Goodman League. You probably know about the Greater NC Pro-Am, too. But what about the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am? You know, the summer league tucked in the most northwest portion of the United States, in the city that recently lost its NBA team? Yeah, that one. So far this summer, Crawford’s Pro-Am in Seattle is drawing enough NBA talent to rival other more famed summer leagues.
The region’s talent-rich pool has brought out the likes of locals in Crawford, Nate Robinson, Terrence Williams, Aaron Brooks, Rodney Stuckey, Spencer Hawes, Isaiah Thomas, and Brandon Roy, who isn’t playing this year because of injury but is usually a regular. Even John Wall has showed up and played. The league may be under-the-radar, but it’s making more noise as more players turn up and put on a show for the Seattle fans without an NBA team.
“It definitely fills the void for a lot of people that like high-level basketball,” says Rashaad Powell, coordinator of the league. “Anything to just give the Seattle community that dose of basketball that they want and are longing for is a plus.”
When the Sonics left Seattle in 2008, they left behind a community that would have to move on without a basketball team. The closest thing to high-level men’s basketball is the University of Washington, but since that’s a college team, the Pro-Am offers perhaps the closest thing to the NBA.
There’s always been a Seattle summer Pro-Am, says Powell, and Crawford’s been sponsoring one for at least five years. It’s a league like Crawford’s that gives fans the closest thing to professional basketball in Washington.
With NBA, international, D-League, and college players playing in the league under NBA rules, the games provide a taste of the NBA for those fans yearning for a team.
“I think what happened,” says Powell, “is the Seattle community, they didn’t really appreciate the Sonics until they were gone – which is the way it generally happens. You don’t miss something until you don’t have it anymore.”
Right now, this is what Seattle does have: the Crawford-sponsored Pro-Am. The league features six teams and has been operating all summer out of the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club. It will continue deep into August depending on the status of the lockout, and games run Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Only between five and 10 of the league’s players come from the NBA, so the Pro-Am provides opportunities for other players to hone their games against each other. And like other leagues, Powell says an interleague game is in the works for next year. This year, the Goodman and Drew leagues will be facing off against each other.
What Powell is working on for next year is the I-5 Challenge, where teams from Seattle would face off against teams from Portland. Back around 1995 and 1996, when Terrell Brandon and Damon Stoudamire were playing in the area, the two cities would match up at alternating locations each year.
A game like that would bring back old-school Seattle summer ball. Powell remembers back when Doug Christie and Jason Terry would come back and play years ago. And then in 2000, Crawford really opened the door.
“He started getting the spotlight on Seattle, like ‘Hey, what’s going on up there?'”
Since then, Seattle’s basketball scene has exploded. Crawford is at the games every weekend, signing autographs with the rest of the players and creating an atmosphere like none other.
“He’s a person who’s always done so much for not just the basketball community but the overall community of Seattle,” says Powell. “He always wants to see great things.”
Even without an NBA team, the Emerald City continues to thrive by bringing back professional basketball in the form of Crawford’s summer league. And it’s been a revelation for fans and player alike.
“Now the city’s really understanding what it is like, even if they weren’t the greatest team, to not have a team at all,” says Powell. “So I think any little thing we can do to give us that back, I think it helps for the community and for the people that like that high-level basketball.”
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