NICKNAME/S: JC, The Alabama Slamma

BIO: Crawford was born in Lower Peach Tree, Alabama, and attended Pine Hill High School in Pine Hill, Alabama.

NBL EXPERIENCE

James Crawford made his NBL debut with the Geelong Cats at 21 years of age. He scored 27 points in his first game.

No one would have predicted that Geelong would reach the NBL Grand Final in their first year in the competition, especially after starting the year with a 2-3 record, which included a drubbing at the hands of Nunawading.

Bruton began the year carrying the offensive load for the Cats, in fact, he was the league-leading scorer for the first seven weeks of the season until eventual winner Reg Biddings took over, on the back of his 63 point effort, which remains the highest score in a 40-minute NBL game.

As a result of the team’s slow start, coach Tim Kaiser was fired and replaced with the team’s high scoring guard Cal Bruton, who would act as a player-coach for the remainder of the season. A stunning 13-game winning streak followed and saw Geelong finish in second place with a 20-win, 6-loss season.

Bruton (23.4 points 3.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists), alongside fellow import James Crawford (26.0 points and 10.9 rebounds) got revenge on Nunawading, defeating them in the semifinals (71-59) before moving on to the West Adelaide Bearcats in the Grand Final.

West Adelaide had disposed of Coburg in the semifinals and had lost only five games for the year, twice by one point and once by two points. In fact, in the last round of the season, West Adelaide had thrashed Geelong by 29 points at Apollo Stadium to cement themselves into a first-place finish. The championship game was played at the neutral venue of Broadmeadow Basketball Stadium (Newcastle), as a neutral venue, where the Bearcats would prove far too strong. Behind the team’s ‘Big Three’ of Al Green (23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists), Leroy Loggins (25.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and player/coach Ken Richardson (14.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists), they resisted a courageous second-half challenge by Geelong to win the Grand Final (80-74), becoming the team from South Australia to win the national championship.

In their 15 seasons of NBL competition from 1982 to 1996, this would prove to be Geelong’s only NBL Grand Final appearance. Bruton received the league’s Coach of the Year award, and Crawford earned a place on the All-NBL First Team.

1983
James Crawford (24.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks) and player/coach Cal Bruton (19.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists), who had become a naturalised Australian that same year would lead the Cats in scoring this season, as well as both earning selection to the All-NBL First Team.

Behind the team’s two superstars, Geelong finished in finished the regular season in second place (18-4).

With the NBL broken into two conferences of eight team’s this season, the playoff format consisted of a round-robin fixture for the top eight team’s, two semi-final games, and one championship-deciding grand final. In Geelong’s round robin games, the Cats would defeat St Kilda (94–95) by one point, but lost to Canberra (81–86) and Nunawading (74-107) to finish third and fail to qualify for the semi finals.

1984
In 1984, player/coach Cal Bruton would go on a major recruiting drive, adding Wayne Mcdaniel, Danny Morseu and Brad Dalton to the roster. Geelong would then reel off a amazing season, losing only one game at home and one game away all season.

James Crawford (28.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks) would lead the team in scoring and rebounding while Bruton (22.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.7 steals) led the team in assists and for the second season in a row, both would be selected to the All-NBL First team.

New additions Mcdaniel (23.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks), Morseu (20.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks) and Dalton (10.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks) saw the Cat’s starting lineup combine for a incredible 105 points per game.

Geelong (21-2) finished first in the league’s Western Diviision, setting the record for fewest regular season losses of all time. The NBL playoff format for this season, saw the top four team’s in each division competed in a 1v2/3v4 elimination finals fixture between 22 June and 23 June, with the loser of 1v2 playing the winner of 3v4 for a spot in the semifinals.

Canberra (16-7), who finished 5 games behind Geelong in the Western Conference, defeated the Cats in the elimination finals (81-87), with Crawford (29 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks) leading the team in scoring, but high scoring teammates failing to deliver their usual performances. Dave Nelson (22 points and 8 rebounds), Herb McEachin (21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals) and Phil Smyth (21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) doing the damage for the Canons. The loss, sent Canberra onto the semi finals but forced Geelong to defeat Nunawading (14-9) to make it through.

The Cats resumed their high-scoring ways to defeat the Spectres (115-91) and reach the semi finals. Morseau (34 points, 9 rebonds 4 assists, and 3 blocks)bounced back after finishing were a mere 8 points against the Cannons in the previous game, giving Crawford (28 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks) the help needed to reach the next round.

There Geelong faced Brisbane (19-5), who had finished first in the league’s Eastern Division, behind stars Leroy Loggins (29.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks), Ron Radliff (20 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.0 steals), and Larry Sengstock (18.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.1 blocks). Although the Cats got big games from each of their stars, Morseau (19 points and 3 rebounds), McDaniel (21 points and 8 rebounds), Crawford (22 points and 12 rebounds), and Bruton (31 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals) delivering his best game of the playoffs, the Bullets were able to equal their offensive abilities, and came away as victors (107-103). Loggins (32 points and 6 rebounds) and Radliff (28 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) leading Brisbane on the stats sheet, in what was really a well rounded team game for the Bullets.

Canberra would go on to defeat Brisbane in the Grand Final by two points (84-82).

1985
The 1985 season saw Crawford average 27.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists and play a key role in helping the Cats to a seventh-place finish during the regular season with a 15-11 record.

CANBERRA CANNONS
1986
During the 1986 season Crawford averaged 27 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists and helped the Cannons finish with a record of 19-7 and end the regular season in second place.

PERTH WILDCATS
1987
In his sixth season in Australia, James Crawford moved from the Canberra Cannons to the Perth Wildcats, where he would play his remaining 13-year career (outside of a one-game cameo for the Cannons in 2003).

The Wildcats underwentmany changes this season, most significantly, the team moved from the small confines of Perry Lakes Stadium to what was known in those days as the Perth Superdrome (now HBF Stadium). The Superdrome was capable of housing 5,000 people, compared to the 800-seat Perry Lakes Stadium. New owner Bob Williams moved quickly in turning the Wildcats’ basketcase to contenders, a team who, at that point, had never had a winning season. His first move was to recruit Cal Bruton as player/coach and provide him with a budget to ‘build me a team’, which Bruton set to work on immediately.

Bruton recruited star imports James Crawford (Canberra) and Kendal Pinder (Sydney), who would become one of the league’s best frontcourt duos. Bruton also bought a professionalism to the team demanded by their new owner. For example, the players wore suits with the team’s’ logo in public.

The new talent paid off immediately as the Wildcats’ recorded their best season to date.

While Bruton (16.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals) juggled the role of player/coach, he also led the team in assists. Alongside him, the ‘rim rocking’ Crawford (33.4 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.3 blocks) would lead the team in scoring, steals and blocks while leading the league in field goal percentage (61%). Let’s just say once the ‘Alabama Slamma’ arrived in Perth, getting a 4,200 basketball fans into the stadium was ‘easy work’.

Crawford output this season is clearly one of the top two most efficient seasons in NBL history, which includes his massive 57 points outing against Melbourne, which remains the highest single game scoring effort by a Perth Wildcats player ever.

Alongside Crawford, Pinder (23.5 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals) would lead the team in rebounds, and captain Mike Ellis (9.4 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals) defended the best guard on every opposition team as Perth finished the regular season in fourth place (19-7), reaching the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Crawford, who would be selected to the All-NBL First Team (his fourth selection), led Perth past Canberra in the elimination finals, Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals and despite having never made the playoffs, the Wildcats found themselves in the Grand Final series against Brisbane.

With the series featuring future Hall of Fame members on both squads and two coaches who couldn’t stand each other (Brian Kerle versus Cal Bruton), the Grand Final was can’t miss action.

Game one saw Perth’s ‘run, stun and have some fun’ style of play, which Bruton had implemented, outclassed by Brisbane’s solid fundamentals. In front of a sell-out home crowd, the Bullets defeated the Wildcat’s by just one point. Two days later, the series moved to Brisbane, where the Bullets continued their winning ways, taking home the championship in two games.

1988
After reaching the playoffs for the first time in 1987 and going all the way to the Grand Final series, Perth retained almost their entire roster from the season before. Star players James Crawford, Kendal Pinder, Mike Ellis and player/coach Cal Bruton all returned for (what was expected to be) a even better result than 1988.

The team even got stronger on paper by allowing Craig Fitzsimmons to move to Geelong and replacing him with Westside Melbourne star Paul Kuiper and signing up-and-coming talent Scott Fenton to replace the retiring Glenn Ellis.

Crawford (26.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.9 blocks) filled the stat sheet every game, leading the team in points, steals and blocks. Pinder (21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals) again led the team in rebounds as Bruton (15.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Ellis (7.8 points, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals) shared the ball handling responsibilities.

Kuiper (15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds) made a immediate impact while 22-year-old Trevor Torrence had a breakout season with his production jumping from 6.2 points in 18 minutes per game to 12.4 points in 27 minutes per game.

Perth, as it had always been in previous seasons, were a tough matchup at home (9-3 record) while struggling to win on the road (4-8 record). They finished on 13 wins and 11 losses and in the sixth spot on the ladder, taking the final playoff seed.

Perth came out firing to start the postseason, first eliminating Leroy Loggins and the Brisbane Bullets in the first round and then winning the first game of the semi finals 108-105) against the North Melbourne Giants. The Giants, who featured one of the best big man import duos of all-time in Scott Fisher and Tim Dillon would turn the tables and defeat Perth in the remaining two semi-final games, both played in Melbourne, ending the Wildcats’ season prematurely.

1989
In 1989, the Wildcats were led by James Crawford (26.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists 1.6 steals, 2.1 blocks) and Kendal Pinder (21.1 points, 14 rebounds, and 2.5 assists 1.1 steals) who helped the Wildcat’s achieve their most successful season to date. Finishing in third place (16-8), Perth would go on to face Adelaide in the Elimination Finals. Cal Bruton (35 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists) would finish as the game high scorer, but but it wouldn’t be enough to get past the 36ers who had five players score over 18 points or more. Mark Davis (25 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 steals), Darryl Pearce (25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists), Orlando Phillips (23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals), Mike McKay (20 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists) and second year big man Mark Bradtke (18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks) combining for 91 points and earn the game one win (122-124).

With the series returning to Perth for game two, Perth returned to its regular season form, shooting 51% from the field (42/82), and defeating Adelaide by 20 points (114-94). Pinder (25 points and 14 rebounds) and Bruton (22 points and 5 assists) top scoring for the Wildcats, while Mark Davis (22 points and 20 rebounds) racked up a 20/20 game in the 36ers losing effort.

With Bruton (29 points and 7 rebounds) again leading the team in scoring, Perth came away with the win in game three (112-108) and earned a semi final spot.

The semi finals would pit Perth against North Melbourne (17-7), who were responsible for eliminating them from the playoffs last season. The Giant’s import duo of Scott Fisher (27 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Tim Dillon (23 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists) still had the wood over the Wildcats, defeating them convincingly in the opening game (108-129) with Bruton (34 points and 3 steals) finishing as the game high scorer. Crawford (42 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 blocks) exploded in game two, after being limited to 16 points in the previous matchup, with Bruton (23 points, 3 rebounds, and 13 assists) setting up Crawford for almost every basket. Ray Borner (24 points and 11 rebounds) stepped up his game as well, but it wasn’t enough with the Wildcats coming away with a three point win (111-108). The series culminated with the Giants winning by 55 points at home in game three. The final score line of 165-110 remains the highest score ever recorded in a NBL postseason game. Dillon (40 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists), Fisher (32 points and 14 rebounds) and David Graham (25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) all coming up big for the Giants. Team captain Mike Ellis (18 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals) top scoring for the Wildcats.

1990
After Perth’s season ended with semi final losses to the North Melbourne Giants in both the 1988 and 1989 seasons, prominent West Australian businessman Kerry Stokes became co-owner of the franchise and looked to change the direction of the team immediately. His first move was moving the team into the iconic 8,000-seat Perth Entertainment Centre.

Perth also received a boost with the naturalisation of both James Crawford and Tiny Pinder at the end of 1989 allowing the Wildcats to sign two additional import players. Cal Bruton, who had retired as a player following the 1989 season and became the Wildcats’ general manager in 1990, was tasked with recruiting the new talent.

Eager for the team to win its first NBL Championship, Bruton looked to create a roster at Perth that echoed the makeup of the Adelaide 36ers team’s of the mid-80s. Oklahoma guard Ricky Grace was signed to play a ‘Al Green’ type role, and he was teamed up with Mike Ellis, who would replicate the Darryl Pearce/shooting guard role. Young talent Trevor Torrance and David Close would be able to space the floor as Mike McKay did, and Crawford, Pinder, and the newly signed import Jeff Allen would replicate the scoring and rebounding that Mark Davis and Bill Jones brought to the 36ers.

The 1990 season began with turmoil as coach Alan Black was controversially fired after only two games and replaced by Cal Bruton. Bruton’s appointment was met with negativity from both the players and the fans, who booed the Wildcats’ new coach whenever he was introduced at tip-off. In fact, with a record of 6-4 and in the middle of a game against the Sydney Kings, these issues boiled over, resulting in Arnold and Pinder laying hands on each other during halftime. Later, Bruton would get himself ejected from the game, and a players-only meeting was held afterwards, with the primary topic being giving the boot to ‘Coach Cal’.

The players were told by management to come together as a team as they wouldn’t be removing Bruton as coach mid-season but gave Bruton notice that his job was up for review at season’s end.

The season ended with stars James Crawford (23.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.1 blocks), Ricky Grace (21.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists 2.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks), and Kendal Pinder (20.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals) leading the scoring and the team limping into the playoffs as the fifth seed (17-9). The team got lucky by facing a Melbourne Tigers unit who were without leading scorer Andrew Gaze, who had been hospitalised with a blood clot in his shoulder. In game one, Tigers forward David Colbert (52 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals) erupted for a career-high in Gaze’s absence, but it wasn’t enough to get past the well-balanced attack of Perth. Ricky Grace (30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists) made 10 of his 13 shots and seemed to set up teammate David Close (25 points and 6 rebounds) for a open look whenever he didn’t score, allowing Perth to walk away victors (122-100).

In game two, Colbert (42 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was unstoppable again, and teammate Dave Simmons (29 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) also delivered a big game also but Perth managed to shut down every other Tigers’ player and ended Melbourne’s season behind a ten point win (123-113). Kendal Pinder (29 points and 7 rebounds) was the star game two, but on the eve of facing the North Melbourne in the semifinals, Pinder was arrested and spent the night in jail the night prior to the first game of the series.

With the team unaware of the events from the evening prior, Pinder (20 points and 14 rebounds) and Ricky Grace (39 points and 5 rebounds) led the Wildcats to a win over the Giants in the opening game (121-11). Scott Fisher (27 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists) would top score for the Giants in the loss.

In game two, Perth still couldn’t find a answer for Fisher (35 points and 14 rebounds) who was unstoppable and led North Melbourne over Perth (131-110) to even the series. The Wildcats barely made it out of the semi finals, with Fisher (32 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists) doing everything he could to win the game, but in the final seconds, Perth were able to hold off the Giants to win by two points (112-110) behind some stellar play from Pinder (28 points and 13 rebounds) once again.

After defeating the Giants, Perth moved forward face a tough Brisbane Bullets squad featuring Leroy Loggins, Derek Rucker and Andre Moore in the Grand Final series. Tens of thousands of people across Western Australia tuned in to the live coverage to see the Wildcat’s triumph 112–106 in Game one of the Grand Final series in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,200 at the Perth Entertainment Centre. Brisbane tied the series (1–1) after winning game two at home in convincing fashion (106–90). In the deciding game, the Wildcat’s blew the game wide open in the third quarter, creating a 20 point buffer before coming home easily in the fourth quarter (109-86). The win would mark the first time a team from Western Australian had won the national championship.

Ricky Grace was recognised as Grand Final MVP, averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists over the three-game series, and while Cal Bruton hoped to return as head coach in 1991, his attempt to repeat was denied with the team deciding to replace him with Murray Arnold and return Bruton to his position of General Manager.

1991
In controversial circumstances, Cal Bruton was not retained as coach despite leading the Wildcats to a championship in 1990. He was replaced by Murray Arnold, a former assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. Arnold’s style of game was focused on defence which was a significant change from the high scoring and entertaining style previously implemented under Cal Bruton. In pursuit of back-to-back championships, the Wildcats strengthened their roster considerably in the off-season with the addition of future WA basketball legend Andrew Vlahov and Peter Hansen, a American who arrived via Venezuela, Spain and the Perry Lakes Hawks.

Arnold’s Wildcats were a highly successful team, finishing the regular season in first place (22–4). Ricky Grace (22.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.5 steals) delivered another amazing year, alongside veteran James Crawford (20.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), Hansen (16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds) and Vlahov (15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds), both making solid contributions in their first year on the team.

After another successful regular season, the Wildcat’s entered the finals brimming with confidence. The Wildcats easily accounted for long-term rivals the Adelaide 36ers in the semifinals to then find themselves against the highly-rated Eastside Melbourne Spectres in the Grand Final. The Wildcats had a unique opportunity to win back-to-back titles, a feat only achieved by two other team’s to that point in the history of the NBL. Everything looked on track when the Wildcats were able to defeat the Spectres in game one in Melbourne by 26 points (109–83). Perth had hit a fever pitch, and delivered another sold-out crowd awaited theWildcats for game two back at home. However, with their backs against the wall, the Spectres performed with a never-say-die attitude and upset the favourites at home by five points (86–81). game two was played on a Friday night and game three was scheduled for Sunday, leaving the Wildcat’s little time to formulate a new strategy. However, in front of a electric Perth crowd, the Wildcats were victorious in the deciding third game by 10 points (90–80) and became the third team in history to win back-to-back NBL Championships. Hansen was named MVP of the Grand Final series after averaging 17.3 points per game over the three games.

1992
In 1992, Crawford averaged 19.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists as the Wildcats finished with a record of 12-12 and in seventh place during the regular season.

1993
In 1993, Crawford averaged 21.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a first place finish in the regular season with a 21-5 record.

1994
1994 saw Perth return with almost their entire roster (all bar the retiring Steve Davis) after falling short against Melbourne in the previous year’s Grand Final. In a effort to build towards the future, however, up and coming talent in the form of AIS graduate Aaron Trahair and CJ Bruton, son of Wildcats’ legend Cal, were added to the roster.

Perth started the season by winning their first three games and sat atop the NBL ladder with a record of 7-2 after the first five rounds. Around the halfway mark of the season, Perth suffered losses to Brisbane (127–126), Hobart (93–92) and South East Melbourne (112–94), which saw them drop down to the middle of the ladder with a record of 10-5. Whilst many believed the Wildcats would rebound from the Grand Final loss and be among the league’s top team’s, they struggled to replicate last season’s form. Whilst they would show signs of brilliance, as they did in their beat down of Melbourne in Round 18 (131–108), they also lost to multiple team’s that weren’t even in the playoff picture, as they did the very next round, suffering a home loss to the Newcastle Falcons (83–92).

Scott Fisher (20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals) led the team in scoring for the second year in a row, with the Wildcats’other key players Ricky Grace (18.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.5 steals), James Crawford (18.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks) and Andrew Vlahov (17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.1 steals) putting up great numbers all season but Perth was unable to recapture the success of the previous season. Rookies Trahair (5.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) and Bruton (4.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists) showed enough to get fans excited about the future.

Perth finished the season with a record equal to Sydney (16-10) but was given the higher playoff seed (sixth) thanks to a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Kings. In the quarterfinals, Perth would face South East Melbourne, who outclassed them in game one, winning by 31 points (113-82). With the series then returning to Melbourne, the Magic defeated them by 14 points (100-86) to end the Wildcats season prematurely.

1995
Coming off a disappointing season where falling one game short of a championship in 1993, Perth barely made the playoffs. Coach Adrian Hurley stepped into this season with rumours suggesting the team would be dismantled if they didn’t get it done this year. Despite this, minimal changes were the roster, with Hurley putting his faith into Perth’s younger players and their expected improvement. The only changes he made to the squad were bringing in Anthony Stewart (via Hobart), to replace the outgoing Trevor Torrance (to Gold Coast), CJ Bruton (US college), and Eric Watterson (retirement).

Team captain Andrew Vlahov (20.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.2 steals) would deliver his best season, becoming the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and the Wildcats’other young talent, Aaron Trahair (9.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals) and Martin Cattalini (9.4 points and 5.0 rebounds) both delivered the best seasons of their career so far. The addition of Stewart (10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals) made a huge difference to the Wildcats playing style, with his ability to hit the three creating more room in the low post for Vlahov, Scott Fisher and James Crawford and Andrew Vlahov to operate in. This also allowed veteran players Ricky Grace (18.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, and 1.7 steals), Scott Fisher (19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) and James Crawford (15.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks) to play slightly reduced roles and be rested and energised when it came time to deliver in the big games.

Hurley would rely on a eight-man rotation for the majority of the year, and thanks to a four-game winning streak to end the season, they were about to finish first (by one game) during the regular season. Perth then faced a rematch with Melbourne in the quarterfinals, with the eighth seeded Tigers surprising Wildcats with a (91-103) loss behind big games from Andrew Gaze (28 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists) and Lanard Copeland (29 points). In game two, Vlahov (30 points and 11 rebounds) equalled his season high for points in a game and made sure the Tigers didn’t end their season early with a nine point victory (108-99). The Wildcats closed out the series with a win in game three (96-92) with all five starters, Crawford (20 points), Vlahov (18 points), Grace (18 points), Scott Fisher (17 points) and Cattalini (11 points) all scoring in double figures.

in the semifinals, Perth faced off against Adelaide where they couldn’t stop their star import Robert Rose (27 points in game one and 22 points in game two), but were able to lock down almost every other player on the 36ers roster. Scott Fisher led the team in scoring in both games, backing up his 27 points and 7 rebounds in Perth’s game one win (94-78), with 26 points and 9 rebounds in game two (85-76).

Perth would face the reigning NBL champions North Melbourne in the Grand Final series, losing their home opener (94-107) thanks to the sharpshooting of Giants stars Chris Jent (29 points and 7 assists), Rod Johnson (21 points and 3 assists), Pat Riedy (21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) and Darryl McDonald (18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals). James Crawford (24 points and 9 rebounds) would top score for the Wildcats.

The series shifted to Melbourne for game two, and with Perth trailing 53-45 at half-time and facing elimination, coach Hurley noticed hundreds of balloons in the ceiling and said to Vlahov,’ Look Andrew, the Giants are ready to celebrate, they think they’ve got it won’. That was enough to motivate Vlahov (29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) to be unstoppable for the remainder of the game, keeping the Wildcats championship hopes alive. Jent (28 points and 8 rebounds) top scoring again for the Giants in the nine point Wildcats win (97-88).

The Wildcats continued their strong defensive effort in game three, holding the Giants to 15 points in the first quarter while scoring 30 themselves. North Melbourne’s leading scorer Chris Jent was limited to 5/14 shooting, and Perth forced the entire Giants squad to shoot 38% from the field (29/77 shots).

Coach Hurley’s plan to rest the team’s veterans also seemed to pay off, with 35-year-old James Crawford (32 points on 83% field goal shooting, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks) proving unstoppable inside. Perth closed things out with a blowout victory (108-88) that saw them win their third championship in six years behind a dominant season that saw them win the ‘Triple Crown’, the pre-season, regular season and the Grand Final series all in the same year.

Andrew Vlahov, who had recently been named in the league’s All-NBL First Team, was awarded the Finals MVP after averaging 24 points per game over the three games.

The Wildcats had little time to celebrate, boarding a flight to take part in the McDonald’s Championships in London, where they would face the NBA champions Houston Rockets. The Wildcats would go down 116-72, but Vlahov (15 points) and Fisher (18 points, 12 rebounds) played well in a game that was the most viewed TV game featuring a NBL team in Australian basketball history.

Perth then played Euroleague champions Real Madrid to determine third place in the tournament. Real Madrid was without star Arvydas Sabonis, but Perth took it to Europe’s best at the time and won 93-86. Grace (26 points and 7 assists), Crawford (26 points) and Vlahov (12 points and 11 rebounds) finished as Perth’s leading scorers.

1996

During the 1996 season, Crawford averaged 14.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists and was a part of the Wildcat’s squad which finished in third place with a record of 16-10.

1997
In 1997 Crawford averaged 14.7 points and 7.4 rebounds, and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a fourth place finish in the regular season with a 17-13 record.

1998
In 1998, Crawford averaged 16 points and 6.4 rebounds, and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a third place finish in the regular season with a 17-13 record.

1999

In 1999 Crawford averaged 6.2 points and 3 rebounds, and helped guide the Wildcat’s to a sixth-place finish during the regular season with a 13-13 record.

2002/03
During the 2002/03 season, Crawford came out of retirement to play one game with the Canberra Cannons.

CANBERRA CANNONS
2002/03
Although Canberra entered 2002 struggling to stay afloat financially, the team added imports Mike Chappell (via Wollongong) and Reginald Poole (via Europe) to the roster and hoped a competitive team would draw enough fans to cover their costs.

With Chappell (21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) leading the team in scoring, alongside Dave Thomas (18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals), CJ Bruton (15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 steals) and Poole (14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.2 blocks) the Cannons started the season on fire. The part of the plan that involved building a successful team worked with Canberra winning seven of their first nine games, but by December, Cannon’s ownership couldn’t afford to keep paying the bills, and the team was forced into voluntary administration just three months into the season. Back-up big man Pero Vasiljevic (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas, who had both just signed two-year deals with the Cannons, exited the club to find alternative employment. A few games later, Bruton and Chappell both requested their release and signed elsewhere also.

Veterans Matthew Shanahan (14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) and Willie Simmons (6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) were added mid-season to help cover the loss of their starting lineup but it wasn’t nearly enough.

In a combined attempt to raise enough money to keep the team in the league and add a few bodies to the roster, a number of NBL legends made cameo appearances with Cannons throughout the last half of the season. 41-year-old Butch Hays suited up for four games for the Cannons, and Perth Wildcats’ legend James Crawford also came out of retirement for one game. The Cannons season ended with the club going 4-17 across their remaining games, and at the end of 2003, Canberra’s licence was moved to Newcastle, where it operated as the Hunter Pirates.

Crawford played in 13 NBL seasons, with 371 of his 504 career NBL games in Perth, etching himself into legendary status.

He currently sits third on the NBL’s all time NBL scorers with 11,121 points, scoring at a average of 22.1 per game. He also appears third amongst the NBL’s all-time leading rebounders with 4,794 (9.5 per game), behind only Mark Bradtke and Mark Davis and is second in blocked shots with 788 (1.5 per game).

Crawford was a four time winner of Perth’s club MVP award and was the only Perth player to feature in the Wildcat’s first 12 trips to the postseason. Crawford, deservingly so, was selected as part of the NBL’s 25th Anniversary Team (named 2003).James Crawford played nineteen seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Geelong Cats, Perth Wildcats and Canberra Cannons. He averaged 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 504 NBL games.

CAREER RANKINGS:
– 13rd in total games played.
– 3rd in total points
– 3rd in total rebounds
– 21st in total steals
– 2nd in total blocks
– 44th in blocks per game.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (798 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.