Torrey Craig is in a rare win-win situation.
The versatile wingman is going to win an NBA championship ring — no matter what happens in this year’s NBA Finals.
Craig is in one of those rare predicaments in professional sports where he ended up on two good teams in the same season.
Craig, 30 years old and in his fourth NBA season, started his 2020-21 campaign with the Bucks, where he played 18 games through mid-March and averaged 2.5 points per game in 11 minutes. On March 18, Milwaukee traded Craig to the Suns for cash considerations. In Craig’s 32 games with Phoenix since, his numbers increased to 7.2 points a night and 18 minutes.
Craig has become an integral part of the Suns, bringing toughness, energy, and a defensive presence Phoenix thrives on. The 6-foot-7 forward was crucial at multiple points in the Western Conference finals as he was able to grab offensive rebounds and track down loose balls to earn extra possessions for his team.
Now, Craig could potentially receive his bling no matter what happens in this Finals series having contributed to both teams.
He isn’t the only player in recent memory to be placed in this situation.
In 2015-2016, Anderson Varejão, who is most known for his time as a floppy-haired role player with LeBron James in Cleveland, started the season with the Cavs and ended with the Warriors. As you can remember, the Cavs came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Warriors in the Finals that season.
The Cavaliers offered Varejão a ring, but he turned it down.
In baseball, Bengie Molina went from the Giants to the Rangers in 2010, then played against his former team in the World Series. Texas lost the series, but Molina still got a ring anyway.
It’s unclear what Craig will do if the Bucks win this series, but it’s still pretty cool to be in a position where you could walk away with a championship title to your name either way.
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