A number of NBA stars headed to Seattle on Saturday night to participate in The CrawsOver, an annual pro-am put on by Pacific Northwest legend Jamal Crawford. While some of the biggest players in the league right now who are from the area showed up, a trio of dudes decided to show Crawford and the fans some love by making a cameo: LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, and Aaron Gordon.
But unfortunately for those in attendance and those who tried to play, the game was unable to go beyond the second quarter. According to multiple folks in attendance, the sheer amount of people packed into the gym caused it to be so humid in the building that condensation built up on the floor, making it unsafe to play.
Game called midway through the second quarter due to condensation on the court.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) August 21, 2022
Damn, had to call the game because the floor is too slippery. It’s super duper hot and humid in here. Too risky with all these millionaires in here.
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) August 21, 2022
Prior to the game getting called, the two teams broke down like this: The home side featured James, Tatum, Dejounte Murray, and recent draft pick MarJon Beauchamp. They went up against Gordon, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Tari Eason, and Isaiah Thomas. There was one unfortunate moment early on in the game, as Holmgren rolled his ankle and eventually called it a night while trying to slow down James in transition.
Chet did really a good job at absorbing the contact, staying in front of Bron & forcing the tough lay-up attempt.
not so bad for a 19 year old. sucks that he tweaked his ankle. pic.twitter.com/G7ERbrG7r5
— Thunder Film Room (@ThunderFilmRoom) August 21, 2022
But despite that rough moment, the little bits of the game that were able to take place served as a chance to celebrate basketball in a city that had an NBA team taken from it years ago. Guys like James, Tatum, and Thomas looked like they had a blast in this sort of environment, while the fans reciprocated that by cheering on everything they did.
The spin and the finish
@KingJames pic.twitter.com/7RqIOQm3wb
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 21, 2022
LEBRON THROWS IT DOWN OFF THE TATUM ALLEY OOP
Don’t miss @thecrawsover, streaming live now on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
https://t.co/vZLRTFPigo pic.twitter.com/QlmZalUACA
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
LeBron down the lane with AUTHORITY!
Watch @thecrawsover live now on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
Isaiah Thomas. Bucket.@thecrawsover is LIVE NOW on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
Jayson Tatum has started off HOT
Watch @thecrawsover live now on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
https://t.co/vZLRTFPigo pic.twitter.com/tgF9tIw2D0
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
That’s crafty, @jaytatum0
@thecrawsover is live now on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
Jayson Tatum knows it’s still #NBAAssistWeek
pic.twitter.com/hWXsaxZ8Qh
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
Tari Eason throws it down on the fast break
Watch all the action from the @thecrawsover LIVE NOW on https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW and the NBA app!
— NBA (@NBA) August 21, 2022
The moment that appeared to lead to the game ending came when Beauchamp went up for an uncontested dunk but could not get his feet under him, leading to Crawford deciding it couldn’t go on any longer.
You could tell LeBron knew it wasn’t safe to be out on that floor. Could see him whispering to Rich Paul at one point. Then MarJon Beauchamp tried a dunk & couldn’t get any traction. Jamal Crawford called the game after that and Bron looked at Rich like, “I called it.”
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) August 21, 2022
It’s too bad that the game wasn’t able to go on for longer, let alone finish, even if we did get a moment between Banchero and Murray that might have squashed their recent beef. Here’s hoping the NBA returns to Seattle sooner than later so the fans in the city get the chance to see these guys more frequently.