Say this about Jamal Crawford as he enters the twilight of his career: he certainly knows his niche.
The Los Angeles Clippers guard has won the NBA Sixth Man Award for an unprecedented third time, the league announced Tuesday. At 36, Crawford is also the oldest player to win the award — breaking his own mark established two years ago.
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Crawford received 341 points at 51 first-place votes in balloting by 130 media members. Andre Igoudala of the Golden State Warriors was second (288 points, 33 first-place votes) and Enes Kanter of the Oklahoma City Thunder was third (182, 19).
Crawford averaged 14.2 points in 26.9 minutes per game for the Clippers this season, his 16th in the NBA.
He previously won the award while playing for the Hawks in 2009-10, the beginning of his run as a super-sub. After starting all 145 games in which he appeared the previous two seasons, Crawford has only 39 starts in 503 regular-season games since that first year in Atlanta.
His latest honor breaks a tie with two-time winners Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf.
