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Why LeBron James' appearance at Jamal Crawford's CrawsOver Pro-Am was cut short

Gilbert McGregor

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Why LeBron James' appearance at Jamal Crawford's CrawsOver Pro-Am was cut short image

With LeBron James headlining, the anticipation was at an all-time high for Jamal Crawford's CrawsOver Pro-Am on Saturday.

Fans began lining up hours in advance of James' game, in which he would be joined by a group of NBA players that included All-Stars Dejounte Murray and Jayson Tatum, as well as high-profile rookies Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren. Basically, an all-star game was set to take place on the campus of Seattle Pacific University.

James' entrance to the gym was a visual reminder of the command he has as one of the biggest stars in the world. 

Unfortunately, his time on the floor was short-lived.

MORE: A look back at LeBron James' pro-am history

Why LeBron James' appearance at the CrawsOver Pro-Am was cut short

Usually, the statement of someone "shutting down" a pro-am comes with a highlight package and stats but here, it takes on a literal meaning as the game was called in the second quarter due to player safety concerns related to condensation on the court.

Crawford later took to Twitter to apologize to the fans that couldn't get in and thank the players that participated, adding that "I had to make the decision to stop the game to protect the players."

Despite the fact that the game didn't make it to halftime, Tatum found a way to provide plenty of highlights, scoring a quick 20 points on the night. While resharing his highlights on Twitter, Tatum said "(I) hate it had to end that way," while promising to bring his son, Deuce, the next time he's there.

Somehow, James and Tatum were on the same team, making for an unfair pro-am pairing that managed to give us one highlight before things ended.

LeBron came through with an individual highlight of his own, too.

While the game's early ending was unfortunate, the event was a win on multiple levels.

14 years after the SuperSonics' departure from the Pacific Northwest, the city of Seattle was again the undisputed center of attention in the NBA world.

After expressing his excitement beforehand, LeBron returned to Twitter to call the event "special … even with us having to stop play because of things we couldn't control."

Isaiah Thomas, a native of Tacoma, Wash., made sure to share just how big of a moment had transpired.

Rockets rookie and Seattle native Tari Eason saw a "lifelong dream" come true months before playing in his first NBA game.

And, most importantly, weeks after the two became entrenched in a war of words via social media, it appears that Banchero and Murray may have settled their differences.

With NBA training camps just weeks away, there may not be many more appearances made at pro-am leagues. If there are, let's hope the next "shut down" is one of the good variety.

Gilbert McGregor

Gilbert McGregor Photo

Gilbert McGregor first joined The Sporting News in 2018 as a content producer for Global editions of NBA.com. Before covering the game, McGregor played basketball collegiately at Wake Forest, graduating with a Communication degree in 2016. McGregor began covering the NBA during the 2017-18 season and has been on hand for a number of league events.