From Journeyman to Champion: Quinton Crawford’s Rise Through the NBA

Quinton Crawford was a walk-on as a junior for the Arizona Wildcats in 2010, only playing 9 games for them. After he graduated, he attended Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, where he received his master’s in educational psychology. While he attended, he was a graduate manager and video exchange coordinator for their men’s basketball team, The Waves, coached by Marty Wilson at the time. He spent 2 seasons in the role before graduating from Pepperdine.

Crawford began his NBA career in 2015 with the Sacramento Kings as an assistant video coordinator under George Karl. After a singular season with the Kings, he was hired by the Orlando Magic as an assistant video coordinator under Frank Vogel. Amongst the Hornets roster that season was Kemba Walker, Tony Parker, Malik Monk (Who later joined the Lakers in 2021), Miles Bridges, Nicolas Batum, Cody Zeller, and Devonte’ Graham.

In August of 2017, he was promoted to Head Video Coordinator and player development coach. Amongst some of the young talent in Orlando were Nikola Vučević, D. J. Augustin, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Jonathan Isaac, and Terrance Ross.

After Vogel was fired in 2018, Crawford joined the Charlotte Hornets as their Head Video Coordinator and player development assistant under James Borrego. He only a season in Charlotte before joining Frank Vogel’s new coaching staff with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach in 2019.

The Lakers were led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, behind them was a solid rotation in Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, and more. In their first seas under Vogel, the Lakers were the 1st seed in the Western Conference and won the 2020 championship in 6 games against the Miami Heat which took place in the NBA’s Orlando bubble due to the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak earlier that year.

After the championship, Crawford would spend the next 3 seasons with the Lakers, working with various new guards in Dennis Schröder, Russell Westbrook, and Malik Monk. After missing the 2022 playoffs, Vogel was fired. Crawford would quickly find a new bench with the Dallas Mavericks under Jason Kidd, who was Vogel’s lead assistant in L.A before leaving for Dallas in 2021.

Crawford spent a season in Dallas and left when Vogel was hired as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Crawford, along with David Fizdale, Miles Simon, Greg St. Jean, John Lucas III, Dru Anthrop, and Jon Pastorek, who Crawford had worked with in L.A, would join Kevin Young on Vogel’s coaching staff. Crawford was a front of the bench assistant.

Unfortunately, his time was cut short in Phoenix only after 1 season due to Phoenix firing Vogel and the remaining assistant coaching staff outside of Fizdale, despite making the playoffs. Not staying idle for too long, Crawford returned to the Sacramento organization as the head coach of their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings.

In his first and only season with the Stockton Kings, the team finished with a 22-12 record, finishing 1st place in the Western Conference. A deep playoff run was in store for them as they powered through the Valley Suns and Austin Spurs to defeat the Osceola Magic, who finished as the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference in 3 games to win the 2025 G-League Championship, the team’s first and Crawford’s first as a head coach.

Later in 2025, Crawford became an assistant coach on Chauncey Billups’s overhauled coaching staff for the Portland Trail Blazers. As of 2026, Tiago Splitter remains the acting head coach and Crawford remains with the team. The Blazers have improved compared to previous years in their ongoing rebuild and with the young core rounding out there’s a good chance they’ll see the post-season for the first time since 2021 under Terry Stotts.

Plus, with the potential return of Damian Lillard next season, that adds even more shooting and playmaking. Looking forward to seeing what’s next for the team and Coach Crawford.