After several weeks of speculation, Jae Crowder is finally a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Marquette star will see an NBA court in a Bucks uniform after missing more than half of the 2022-23 season due to a contract dispute with the Phoenix Suns before his trade to Milwaukee.
The Bucks were in hot pursuit of Crowder seeing him as an important piece to them returning to the NBA Finals. Crowder brings 10 years of experience, a veteran presence and a “tough-as-nails” acumen that the Bucks will count on for their 2022-23 playoff run.
Here’s a look at six ways that Crowder will make the Bucks a better team now that he is on their roster.
Jae Crowder can start or come off the bench for the Bucks
Role Player: Crowder has played in 735 career NBA games in his 10 years in the league. Flexibility is an important element of his game; he can start or come off the bench and be effective in either role. Of his 735 career games, he has started 406 of them; in 329 games he has come off the bench. He is one of 15 players who played in 700 or more games from 2012-13 to 2021-22. Of those 15 players, he is one of three who came off the bench in 300 or more games. As a starter Crowder has a career slash line of 11.0 points/5.0 rebounds/1.9 assists per game. As a reserve his career slash line is 7.8/3.4/1.2. We’ll see how Coach Bud and the Bucks decide how they will use Crowder as he gets back into shape for the remainder of the season.
Three-Pointers: In seven of Crowder’s 10 NBA seasons, he has made 100 or more three-pointers in a season. He is one of 33 players to have seven or more seasons with 100+ three-pointers from 2012-13 to 2021-22. Crowder’s career three-point shooting percentage is .346, but in his last three seasons that percentage has been .380. He is certainly not shy when it comes to firing up threes; in the last four seasons, Crowder has attempted 1,661 threes, tied for 24th most in the league.
Crowder is the only NBA player from 2013-2022 to play 700+ regular season games and 100+ playoff games
Durability: His 735 games played from 2012-13 to 2021-22 were the fourth most in the league. In his 10 seasons he has averaged 73.5 games per year. He has also averaged 27 minutes or more a season in seven of his 10 years in the league. From 2012-13 to 2021-22, Crowder is the only NBA player to play 730 or more regular season games and 100 or more playoff games.
Playoff experience: His 107 playoff games the last 10 seasons is 13th most in the league. He was one of 16 players to play 100 or more playoff games from 2013-21. He has played in 19 playoff series in 10 seasons; his team has won 10 of those 19 series. He has averaged 30 minutes playing time in his 107 career playoff games, and has played 24 minutes or more in 91 of those 107 playoff contests. His playoff slash line is 10.7/5.4/1.9. He is also a 77% free throw shooter in the post-season.
NBA Finals Experience: Crowder has played in two NBA Finals series… in 2020 with Miami in their loss to the L.A. Lakers, and in 2021 with Phoenix in their six-game loss to the Bucks. He has averaged 34 minutes of play per game in the Finals with a slash of 11.4/5.6/1.4. His three-point shooting is .372 in the Finals and his free throw shooting is .833.
Jae Crowder is one of 15 players to have these numbers from 2012-13 to 2021-22
An All-Around Offensive Game: Crowder’s career numbers are 7,056 points, 3,147 rebounds, 1,182 assists and 1,146 three-pointers made. He is one of only 15 players from 2012-13 to 2021-22 to have 7,000 points, 3,000 rebounds, 1,000 assists and 1,000 three-pointers made. Of these 15 players, Crowder had the second fewest minutes played and the fewest games started.
And if you think about it, we haven’t even mentioned one of the reasons the Bucks were so hot to get Crowder on their roster: his defensive skills.
There is a lot to be optimistic about with Jae Crowder on the roster. It will be interesting to see how the team, and specifically Coach Bud, uses him and develops the Bucks’ rotation as the season winds down and the playoffs gets underway.
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