Zack Crevier assists a young audience member in spinning a basketball on his finger. Left to right, (above) are: Zack, Bruce, Micah, Hollie, Ben and Nathan Crevier.

All in the family

Spintastic

NBA greats LeBron James and Steph Curry were among those that were entertained by the same Spintacular Basketball Show that patrons of the Lyon County Fair were able to watch on Saturday. Bruce Crevier and his wife Diane and their 12 children have performed their basketball prowess all over the United States and in 40 countries as a team called "Champions Forever". The family not only does some spectacular stunts while dribbling, spinning and juggling basketballs, they all also ride various-sized unicycles.

"We have a good coach," said Bruce Crevier, who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for spinning 30 basketballs at one time on his body. "The King of Kings is our coach and his name is Jesus Christ. Our Champions Forever Ministry is all about performing and sending a message that all things are possible through Christ."

The family travels around the country in a large motor home. Seven of the 12 children joined their parents in Marshall for two performances on Saturday. "This never gets old," said Crevier. "If you would have told me years ago that I would make a living spinning a basketball, I would have thought you were crazy."

Crevier is also one of 12 siblings, so having that many kids isn't all that unusual to him. "It's not something we planned," he laughed. "We just kept having one, then another, then another. The last two we had are twin daughters."

With so many children, Diane does a head count before the family boards the motor home to make sure no one is missing and they end up with a "Home Alone" incident. The family, which lives in Elkton, SD, is made up of Bruce and Diane, and their eight sons and four daughters.

Bruce once spun a basketball without a break for 22 hours and 12 minutes. His skills landed him an appearance on such current and former television programs as: Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, the Today Show, NBA Inside Stuff, The Vicki Lawrence Show, ESPN, the Maury Povich Show, the 700 Club, and CBS Evening News.

Encouraged by others, the Creviers were one of 2,000 acts that tried out for America's Got Talent in 2015.

They made it to one of the final 20 acts where they appeared at Radio City Music Hall in New York City before being eliminated.

The Champions Forever team encourage audience participation on stage to attempt various skills. They also spin basketballs on the tips of plastic spoons while at the same time feeding an audience member applesauce with that spoon. "We love to include the kids to see their reaction," said Diane.

"And the adults enjoy trying to spin a basketball or one of our tricks, too." One young boy in attendance at the Lyon County Fair was shown how to spin a ball on his finger. The wide smile on his face indicated how thrilled he was.

The Creviers have performed for several NBA teams, including at halftime of Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. "We've been blessed with all these different opportunities," said Bruce.

"But we've been also been blessed with meeting wonderful people wherever we go. And we only have Him to thank for that."

The Creviers are special people with a special talent spreading a special message.

Ben, left, and Micah Crevier juggle while riding the giraffe unicycles. Staff photo by Scott Thoma.

Contact Us

The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492