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Maxx Crosby clearly took notice of one championship run. But it wasn’t the Philadelphia Eagles the Las Vegas Raiders star observed. The edge rusher grabbed cues from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
OKC claimed the top of the NBA world by winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy. So how and why is Crosby turning to the Thunder for the inspiration? He detailed his reasonings with Raiders insider for The Athletic Tashan Reed during the annual Sack Summit, a camp where pass rushers sharpen their skills.
“Individual success and things like that are awesome, but it’s not why you play the game. You play to win. We just saw it in the NBA: OKC, just a couple years ago, was one of the worst teams in the league,” Crosby explained to Reed. “But they had a lot of young guys, they trusted the process, they developed and now they’re the world champions.”
He’s drawing inspiration from the ecosystem Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and others embraced. Crosby will hope Pete Carroll creates something similar.
Crosby continues to demonstrate his loyalty toward the Raiders. He squashed offseason trade rumors by agreeing to the Raiders’ $106. million extension in March.
He’s entering another new regime once again. The Raiders have gone through Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce as head coaches. Now they’re turning to 74-year-old Carroll. And the past Super Bowl winning head coach is bringing in a mix of young and veteran talent.
Crosby isn’t here to hear the words “rebuild,” though.
“We’re trying to win. I want to win so badly,” he said. “I put everything into it and I want everybody else to think like that. And that’s been my goal, just bringing as many guys along as I possibly can.”
Carroll is doing his part to infuse new energy in Vegas. Ashton Jeanty is the new featured back. Geno Smith is handling QB1 duties after starring for Carroll before. Crosby previously energized Raiders fans with a May 27 message. Now he’s hoping Vegas becomes the NFL’s version of the Thunder.
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