"Had to make it special": Jamal Crawford recalls asking NBA Twitter about 'Shabbat Shalom' move in Christmas game debut

Jamal Crawford is one of several big names eligible to get inducted into the Naismith Basketball Memorial Hall of Fame next year. In the spirit of Christmas, the NBA uploaded Crawford's signature move during his first Christmas Day game in 2012. He also recalled predicting that he'd pull it off days before the game.

In the video shared by NBA on X, Crawford hit the Denver Nuggets with his patented "Shake and Bake" move for an easy basket in the second quarter. Longtime Clippers superfan and actor Billy Crystal was the guest commentator. He called it the "Shabbat Shalom," the name for Crawford's signature move.

Crawford retweeted the post and claimed that he predicted and asked X back if he should pull out the "Shabbat Shalom."

"Backstory: I predicted and asked Twitter should I do it the night before lol. First game ever on Christmas Day, had to make it special!," Crawford wrote.

For those wondering if Jamal Crawford was telling the truth, here's the tweet he was talking about:

"JCrossover" ended his Christmas Day game debut with 22 points, three rebounds and two assists as the LA Clippers comfortably dispatched the Denver Nuggets 112-100.

The Clippers were just in their infancy as "Lob City" with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Nuggets, meanwhile, had no stars but had solid players like Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala, Kenneth Faried, Kosta Koufos and Danilo Gallinari.

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Jamal Crawford explains origins of his signature move

Jamal Crawford is a three-time Sixth Man of the Year.

Jamal Crawford first pulled off the "Shake and Bake" on Nov. 26, 2007 against the Utah Jazz when he was with the New York Knicks. Crawford casually dribbled twice behind his back, making Deron Williams look foolish, as the Madison Square Garden crowd let out some oohs and aahs.

In a video from 2018 for The Player's Tribune, Crawford commented about his signature move and how he didn't put the full version of it on the court.

"What a lot of people don't know is the version the NBA has seen is the reduced version," Crawford said. "The way I made it up, I do it on command, but I don't want to show everybody since I was waiting until I made the All-star game to pull it out."

Unfortunately for fans and Crawford, he was never selected to play in an All-Star Game until his retirement in 2020.

He's now eligible to get inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Tom Chambers, Shawn Marion and the 2008 Redeem Team USA.

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