Aleem Ford (born December 22, 1997) is an American - Puerto Rican professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Cleveland Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fra ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

High school career

Ford initially attended

Archer High School Archer High School is a public high school near Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States. It is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is named after Gwinnett County teacher and coach Benjamin Vernon Archer. The school officially opened on ...

, where he averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks as a senior, earning All-Region 8-AAAAAA honors. He later joined

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

in Florida as a

post-graduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

player, averaging 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

College career

Ford

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

ed his true freshman season at Wisconsin. He averaged 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman. Following the season, he underwent knee surgery. Ford averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a junior. As a senior, Ford averaged 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.

Professional career

Leones de Ponce (2021)

Ford began his professional career in 2021 with the Leones de Ponce of the Puerto Rican

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

, after being selected first in their draft. In 32 games, he averaged 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks per game.

Lakeland / Orlando Magic (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA u ...

, Ford signed with the

Lakeland Magic The Lakeland Magic are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Lakeland, Florida, and are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. The Magic began play in the 2017–18 season and play their home games at the RP Fundi ...

of the

on November 4, 2021. In 12 games, he averaged 9.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.1 minutes per game. On December 17, 2021, Ford was one of four players signed to 10-day contracts by the Orlando Magic of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, when the team did not have enough players to play their home game that evening due to league

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

protocols. He made his NBA debut that evening, scoring 2 points and recording a steal in a 115–105 loss to the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

. On December 27, he was reacquired by Lakeland.

Return to Leones de Ponce (2022)

After the conclusion of the G League season, Ford returned to Leones de Ponce.

Return to Lakeland (2022–2023)

On November 3, 2022, Ford was named to the opening night roster for the

Third stint with Leones de Ponce (2023)

On March 30, 2023, Ford returned to Leones de Ponce of the

Puerto Rican league Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places * El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines * Puerto Colombia, Colombia * Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela * Puerto Galera, O ...

Cleveland Charge (2023–present)

On October 21, 2023, Ford signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was waived the same day, and one week later, he signed with the

of the

Internaitonal career

Ford is of Puerto Rican descent. He opted to play for the

Puerto Rico men's national basketball team The Puerto Rico national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación de ...

for the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be ...

Career statistics

NBA

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Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

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Personal life

The son of Steven and Zoraya Ford, he has an older sister, Medeenah. He majored in Communication Arts.

References

External links

Wisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Aleem 1997 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Basketball players from Gwinnett County, Georgia Cleveland Charge players IMG Academy alumni Lakeland Magic players Leones de Ponce basketball players Orlando Magic players Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players Small forwards Sportspeople from Lawrenceville, Georgia Undrafted National Basketball Association players Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players