Chris Ford

This article is about the professional basketball player. For the professional wrestler, see Crowbar (wrestler). For the film screenwriter, see Christopher Ford (screenwriter).
Chris Ford
Personal information
Born (1949-01-11) January 11, 1949 (age 73)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, US
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolHoly Spirit (Absecon, New Jersey)
CollegeVillanova (1969–1972)
NBA draft1972 / Round: 2 / Pick: 17th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1972–1982
PositionShooting guard
Number42
Coaching career1983–2004
Career history
As player:
1972–1978Detroit Pistons
1978–1982Boston Celtics
As coach:
1983–1990Boston Celtics (assistant)
1990–1995Boston Celtics
1996–1998Milwaukee Bucks
1999–2000Los Angeles Clippers
2001–2003Brandeis University
2003–2004Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
2004Philadelphia 76ers (interim)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As head coach:

As assistant coach:

Career statistics
Points7,314 (9.2 ppg)
Assists2,719 (3.4 apg)
Steals1,152 (1.6 spg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Christopher Joseph Ford (born January 11, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He is known for making the first counted NBA three-point shot on October 12, 1979.

Amateur career

A 6-foot-5 (1.96 m) guard from Atlantic City, Ford played high school basketball at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey, He averaged a Cape-Atlantic League record 33 ppg as a senior, and finished with 1,507 career points, which is still a school record. Ford then signed to play at Villanova University, sat out his freshman year as required at the time, and then quickly established himself, averaging 16.1 ppg, helping the team advance to the regional finals of the 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament, losing to St. Bonaventure 97–74, with the Bonnies led by 26 points by Bob Lanier, a future teammate of Ford with the Detroit Pistons.

Villanova and Ford continued their winning ways, advancing in the 1971 NCAA University Division basketball tournament to the championship game, losing to UCLA and legendary coach John Wooden 68–62. Ford averaged 13.8 ppg on the season. In his senior year, Ford averaged a stellar 17.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, again helping lead Villanova to the 1972 NCAA tournament, with the team losing in the regional semi-final to Penn 78–67. For his college career, Ford averaged 15.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, leading Villanova to three consecutive NCAA appearances.

Professional career

Ford was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1974 NBA draft (2nd round, 17th overall pick). Ford established himself as a defensive oriented regular for Detroit, helping lead the team to four straight post-season berths (1974-1977). His averages peaked in the tumultuous 1976-77 Detroit Pistons season with 12.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.1 apg, and 7th in steals (179) in the NBA. In October 1978, he was traded by Detroit with a 1981 2nd round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for Earl Tatum. He averaged a career high with 15.6 pgg in the 1978-79 Boston Celtics season and was a member of the 1981 Boston Celtics championship team. He retired after the 1981-82 Boston Celtics season, with 10-year career averages of 9.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, and 1.6 steals per game, remaining in the top 100 for his career in steals per game.

Ford also appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the cult classic basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979 alongside Pistons teammates Bob Lanier, Eric Money, John Shumate, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.

Coaching career

Ford became an assistant coach with Boston, first under KC Jones and then Jimmy Rodgers, helping the Celtics to NBA championships in 1984 and 1986. After Rodgers dismissal, Ford was promoted to head coach for the Celtics (1990–95, 222–188, .541), and then dismissed, replaced by former Pistons and Celtics teammate ML Carr. Ford then coached Milwaukee Bucks (1996–98, 96–95, .421), the Los Angeles Clippers (1999–2000, 20–75, .211), and finally the Philadelphia 76ers (2003–04, 12–18, .400). Ford coached the Eastern All-Stars in the 1991 NBA All-Star Game. In addition to coaching at the professional level, Ford spent two seasons (2001–2003) as head basketball coach at Brandeis University, a Division III school in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Ford then became a scout for the 76ers and was also a coaching consultant for the New York Knicks.

Coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Boston 1990–91 82 56 26 .683 1st in Atlantic 11 5 6 .455 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Boston 1991–92 82 51 31 .622 1st in Atlantic 10 6 4 .600 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Boston 1992–93 82 48 34 .585 2nd in Atlantic 4 1 3 .350 Lost in first round
Boston 1993–94 82 32 50 .390 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed Playoffs
Boston 1994–95 82 35 47 .427 3rd in Atlantic 4 1 3 .350 Lost in first round
Milwaukee 1996–97 82 33 49 .402 7th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
Milwaukee 1997–98 82 36 46 .439 7th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
L.A. Clippers 1998–99 50 9 41 .180 7th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
L.A. Clippers 1999–00 45 11 34 .244 (fired) — — — — —
Philadelphia 2003–04 30 12 18 .400 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed Playoffs
Career 699 323 376 .462 29 13 16 .448

This page was last updated at 2022-12-05 10:30 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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