Legendary NBA ref Joey Crawford has spent the past 39 years working for the League. In what he already announced would be his final season, Crawford has been sidelined since November, and he won’t work another game, he’s announced. He had recurring pain in his right knee after undergoing surgery for a meniscus tear in December.
Crawford officiated 50 NBA Finals games and 2,561 regular season games, second all-time to Dick Bavetta.
Crawford, 64, spoke to NBA.com this morning about his decision:
“You turn the page, y’know, and you think, ‘It’s somebody else’s turn,’ ” Crawford told NBA.com in a phone interview Wednesday. “But you still miss it. You miss the people.
“I’m just lucky that a lot of the refs, they’ll call me up. I don’t know if they do it because they feel sorry for me, but they’ll say, ‘Can you break down a quarter for me here or a quarter there?
“I was lucky. For 35 years or so it was only like, a calf [strain] here or there. But the last two years, my 38th and 39th, it just broke down on me. What’re ya gonna do? You just move on.”
