Joe Crawford of the Los Angeles D-Fenders has been named NBA D-League Performer of the Week for games played during the week of Jan. 27, 2009. Crawford is the first Los Angeles player to earn the honor this season.
Crawford averaged 26.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in three games for the D-Fenders. He led Los Angeles to a 2-1 record, including two wins over the first-place Idaho Stampede.
A 6-5 rookie guard from Kentucky, Crawford was the 58th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Draft. He ranks fourth in the NBA D-League with 21.3 points per game.
Other top performers last week included Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who averaged 24.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in his first two games for Austin; Josh Davis, who averaged 27.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in two games for the 14ers; Erik Daniels, who averaged 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in four games for the BayHawks; Othyus Jeffers, who led Iowa to a 2-1 record, averaging 24.0 points and 9.3 rebounds; Dontell Jefferson, who averaged 25.3 points and 6.6 assists in three games for Utah.
