粉絲團
克勞佛。（資料照，USA Today）
〔體育中心／綜合報導〕今年64歲的NBA資深裁判克勞佛（Danny Crawford）將正式退休，結束長達32個球季的職業生涯。
「我還有餘力繼續工作，」克勞佛告訴《今日美國》，「再吹2年也沒問題，但我問自己『什麼時候才是停下腳步的時候？』我不想工作到體力不支才退休。」
克勞佛生涯擔任2000場以上例行賽裁判，另外有300場的季後賽經驗。他也曾經擔任過2屆明星賽的裁判，生涯首次擔任總冠軍賽裁判則是1995年火箭與魔術的第2場，此後每年總冠軍賽都至少分得1場，直到退休。今年總冠軍賽，克勞佛擔任5場比賽其中2場的裁判。
2016年1月，克勞佛在教練與球員的匿名調查中獲選為聯盟最佳裁判，一個月後獲邀擔任明星賽裁判。奈史密斯籃球名人堂過去曾有16位裁判入選，克勞佛可望成為第17位。
球員時常跟克勞佛抱怨，私下卻很敬重他。（資料照，美聯社）
帕波維奇抱怨，他也不為所動。（資料照，法新社）
Crawford knew Game 5 of the 2017 Finals was his last game as an NBA ref.
“Because I went into the season knowing I was going to retire, my goal was to try and talk myself out of it," he said.
He didn’t talk himself out of it.
"I made it a point to go into the year and make myself aware of the energy in the building," Crawford said. "I appreciated how talented the coaches were and how talented the players were and that I was a part of it all. I said to myself, 'You know what? I’m not going to miss it.' "
