Peter Crawford OLY

A graduate of Townsville State High School’s Tropics, Peter Crawford made his NBL debut for the Townsville Crocodiles in 1999, and with 292 games across ten seasons (1999-2004 and 2009-2014) he holds the record for most games played with the Crocodiles. With 488 NBL games, he holds the record for the most NBL games played by any Queensland born player.

Peter’s 488 game NBL career includes being identified as the league’s most improved player and leading the league in steals in the regular season in 2005, and making more steals than any other player in the league during the five years he played with Perth from 2004 to 2009. He also holds the Wildcats’ second highest all-time 3-points percentage scoring record with a 37.9% success rate.

On 26 February 2011, Peter scored his NBL career high with 31 points in the Crocodiles’ home win against Sydney Kings. He shot 3 from 4 two points and 7 from 9 three points, shooting at 76.9% from the field, and shooting 4 from 4 free throws.

Peter was selected in the All NBL third team in 2011 and the All NBL second team in 2012. Across his 16 years playing in the NBL, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 25.6 minutes per game. In a rarely heralded statistic, Peter was called for a miserly 2.6 fouls per game.

Peter’s NBL career was sandwiched between his three successful seasons with the Townsville Heat in the Queensland Basketball League. He won a state league title with Townsville Heat in 2000 and then, after he retired from the NBL, won it again as a player in 2017 and 2018. Interestingly, these are the only three times that the Heat had won the title since 1989.

Following his selection in the Australian Boomers for the 2005 Stankovic Continental Champions Cup and the 2004 and 2009 FIBA Oceania Championships, the highlight of Peter’s playing career was his selection in the Boomers to contest the 2012 London Olympic Games. Peter made history as being the first team sport Mount Isa born Olympian.

After his playing career, Peter transitioned to coaching, combining brilliant player management skills and exceptional game knowledge. In his role coaching athletes as part of the state and national performance programs in Townsville, and later as Southern Districts’ representative basketball officer, Peter has helped to shape the next generation of Queensland players.

As one of Queensland’s most successful coaches with a 100% medal-success record with his three Queensland state teams, Peter coached the silver medal winning 2020 and 2025 Under 20 men’s teams and the gold medal winning 2021 Under 20 men’s team. In 2021, Peter was recognised as Basketball Queensland Male Coach of the Year.

Peter Crawford joined the Southern Districts Spartans men's team as head coach for the 2023 NBL1 North season. In a remarkable three-year coaching effort, Peter’s Spartans advanced from not making the playoffs in 2023, to losing in the semifinals in 2024, to winning the championship in 2025 and Peter’s being named as NBL1 North Coach of the Year.

Peter’s 26 years of basketball excellence have encompassed being a member of the Boomers at the London Olympic Games, holding the record for the most NBL games played by any Queensland born player, coaching Queensland under 20 men’s teams to three Australian championship finals and winning a gold medal, coaching Southern Districts Spartans to the NBL1 North 2025 championship and influencing the lives of hundreds of junior players.

Peter Crawford OLY is a most worthy inductee in the Queensland Basketball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2025.