Jae Crowder

Crowder was taken 34th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers; however, a draft night-trade with the Mavericks sent him to Dallas, along with 24th overall pick Jared Cunningham and 33rd overall pick Bernard James, in exchange for 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller and Kelenna Azubuike.

His Marquette teammate Darius Johnson-Odom was also drafted with the 55th overall pick.

Due to his strong showing in NBA Summer League and preseason games, he was described as "the steal of the NBA draft", averaging 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.6 assists and 0.8 blocks in 22 minutes per game in the preseason and 16.6 points, 1.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 2.0 steals and 41.7 percent shooting in Summer League, where he was also voted into the All-Summer League team.

Corey Jae Crowder (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Technical College and later Howard College, where he led the team to an NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in his sophomore season.

While at Howard College, Crowder was also named State Farm Junior College Player of the Year.

Later, he transferred to Marquette, where he was named Big East Player of the Year in his senior season.

Jae Crowder was born on July 6, 1990, in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Helen Thompson and basketball player Corey Crowder.

Crowder attended Villa Rica High School, where he played as starting quarterback for the football team and as starting point guard for the basketball team.

Crowder spent the summer holidays in Florida, working out and training with his father, then a professional basketball player with 2 years experience in the NBA who was playing in Europe.

Growing up, he was undersized and overweight, weighing nearly 200 pounds in his junior year.

Eventually, he called his father to help him lose weight.

By the end of his junior year, he had grown to 6 ft and had significantly improved his physical conditioning.

Crowder was not heavily recruited out of high school, although he had some offers in football.

He committed to South Georgia Technical College, a college in Americus, Georgia.

He later transferred to Howard College for his sophomore season.

After his junior college eligibility ended, he transferred to Marquette.

In his only season with South Georgia Tech, he led the Jets to their first-ever NJCAA national tournament appearance in his freshman season, under head coach Steven Wright, with the team finishing with a 21–7 record.

He was named Georgia Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year that season.

In his sophomore season with the Howard Hawks in 2010, Crowder was not only named NABC NJCAA Player of the Year but also helped the team win its first-ever NJCAA Division I championship.

In the final game he registered 27 points and 12 rebounds in an 85–80 overtime victory against Three Rivers Community College.

He averaged 18.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a sophomore while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 76.0 percent from the free throw line.

After his season with the Howard Hawks, Crowder transferred to Marquette University, selecting the Golden Eagles over UNLV, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech and Illinois State, among others.

He averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in his first season with Marquette.

Some basketball statisticians believe Crowder was statistically the best all-around player during the 2010–11 season.

On January 1, 2011, Crowder recorded a career-high 29 points and 8 rebounds in a game against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

For the 2011–2012 season, Crowder averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Crowder led Marquette to a second-place finish in the Big East, as well as their second consecutive Sweet 16.

During the same season, he was named Big East Player of the Year, as well as an AP Second-Team All American.

After his senior year ended, Crowder declared for the 2012 NBA draft, where he was drafted 34th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers and traded to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night.

On March 30, 2012, Crowder was named East Perfect Player of the Game in the Reese's College All-Star Game.

After finishing his college career, Crowder decided to enter the 2012 NBA draft, where he was projected to be a second-round pick.

He was officially signed on July 20, 2012, on a non-guaranteed two-year contract, like all second round draft picks.

In 2014, Crowder was traded to the Boston Celtics.

He spent three years in Boston before being traded back to his draft team, the Cavaliers, in August 2017.

In 2018, Crowder was traded to the Utah Jazz.

He was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2019, and he was traded to the Miami Heat in 2020, with whom he reached his first NBA Finals with the same year.

In the 2020 offseason, Crowder signed with the Phoenix Suns and reached his second NBA Finals in 2021.

After disagreements between Crowder and the Suns' front office, both sides mutually agreed on having Crowder sit out for the start of the 2022–23 season.

He would eventually be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023.