Phil Jackson Ford Jr. (born February 9, 1956) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player in 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 S ...

(NBA). He graduated from Rocky Mount Senior High School in 1974, and had an All-American college career with the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

College career

Ford was the first freshman under head basketball coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

to start in his first collegiate basketball game. During the season, he averaged 16.4 points and 5.2 assists per game – both of which were UNC freshman records that would stand for more than 20 years. Ford led UNC to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season standings, and then to a championship win over

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

in the 1975 ACC tournament. This win broke N.C. State's two-year winning streak as ACC champions. Ford averaged 26 points in the tournament and was named tournament MVP – the first freshman in ACC history to achieve that honor. In his sophomore season, Ford averaged 18.6 points and 7.0 assists per game. His assists average established a UNC single-season record until

Ed Cota Eduardo Enrique Cota (born May 19, 1976) is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. High school career Cota played his freshman and sophomore years at Brooklyn, New York's Samuel J. Tilden High School. As a sophomore, he ...

averaged 7.4 assists during the 1997–98 season. Ford led UNC to a first-place finish during the ACC regular season and was a first team All-ACC selection, an honor he would also receive in his junior and senior seasons. He also was a consensus second team All-American. In his junior season, Ford averaged 18.7 points and 6.6 assists per game while once again leading the Tar Heels to a first-place ACC regular season finish. In the 1977 ACC tournament, Ford scored 26 points in the championship game against the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

to propel UNC to another conference title. In the

1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament The 1977 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 American schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the National Champion of Men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on Saturday, March 12, 1977, and ended with ...

, Ford helped advance the Tar Heels into the Final Four and all the way to the NCAA Championship Game, despite hyperextending his shooting elbow in the regional semifinal game against Notre Dame. Ford was named a consensus first team All-American at the end of the season. In his senior season, Ford averaged 20.8 points and 5.7 assists per game, and scored a career-high 34 points in his final home game – a victory against

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

, which clinched another ACC first-place finish for the Tar Heels. At the end of the season, Ford repeated as a consensus first-team All-American and was recognized as the National Player of the Year when he won the USBWA, NABC and Sporting News Player of the Year awards, as well as the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

NBA career

Ford was the second overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft. While being coached by

Cotton Fitzsimmons Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Mi ...

and forming a dynamic backcourt duo with

Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games. A guard who attended Wint ...

which was noticed by many across the league, Ford was named

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

with the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. During that season, on February 21, 1979, Ford recorded a career best 22 assists, while also scoring 26 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and recording 5 steals, in a 133-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. During the

1980-81 NBA season __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

, Ford scored a career high 38 points in a 113-107 win over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

on January 23, 1981. Just weeks later, Ford was forced to undergo surgery for a season ending eye injury, after which the Kings unexpectedly made it to the Western Conference Finals despite having a regular season record of 40-42. After the season, Ford struggled to return to his previous level of play, and was traded to the Nets, then traded to the Bucks, before being released and playing out his career on the Rockets. In 482 NBA games, Ford scored 5,594 points, an 11.6 average, and had 3,083 assists, an average of 6.4 per game. He retired from the NBA in 1985.

National team career

After his sophomore season, Ford was the starting point guard for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, coached by Dean Smith, which won the gold medal. In six Olympic games, Ford totaled 54 assists for a 9.0 assists per game average.

Style of play

Ford was known as an excellent ballhandler and penetrator who possessed a very accurate pull-up jump shot. He was also very adept at making

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

s, especially in the final minutes of close games. His ballhandling and free-throw shooting skill allowed him to be at his best when running Carolina's

Four Corners offense The four corners offense, technically four corner stall, is an offensive strategy for stalling in basketball. Four players stand in the corners of the offensive half-court while the fifth dribbles the ball in the middle. Most of the time the point ...

, an offensive strategy that some college teams used to either stall or score only when taking extremely safe shots. However, when Ford was dribbling the ball in the center of the four corners alignment, he often found teammates for quick, easy baskets or drew fouls on the other team. Coach Smith often employed this offense when UNC needed to protect a lead in the final minutes of a game, and Ford's abilities all but ensured that such a lead would be maintained. Ford also mastered the 360-degree spinning layup.

Legacy

Ford is widely considered to be among the greatest college point guards of all time, and some contend he is still the greatest point guard ever to play in the ACC. He finished his career at Carolina as the all-time leading scorer in school history, with 2,290 points. He also set school and ACC career records for total assists, with 753 (a mark since broken by several other players). On December 18, 2008,

Tyler Hansbrough Andrew Tyler Hansbrough (born November 3, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for seven seasons, as well ...

surpassed Ford's career scoring total. He also finished his career as the only player in

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

history to score over 2,000 points and register at least 600 assists (a record now shared with

Travis Best Travis Best (born July 12, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Europe. High school career Best attended Springfield Central High School, starring on teams tha ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and

Greivis Vásquez Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez (born January 16, 1987) is a former Venezuelan professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a coach, most recently working as the associate head coach for the Erie BayHawks ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

). Ford was especially productive in ACC Tournament play, as he averaged 23.6 points per game in 8 career tournament contests. In both his Junior and Senior years, Ford won the

ACC Athlete of the Year The Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year award is given to the male and female athlete who show extraordinary talent throughout the entire season. The award is decided by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Anthony J. ...

award, making him one of just a few ACC athletes ever to win the award twice. Ford was inducted into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

in May 1991. In 2002, Ford was named to the

ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team During the 2002–03 school year, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) celebrated its 50th anniversary by selecting the top players in its respective sports. Fifty players were selected for the men's basketball team, which was voted on by a 120-mem ...

honoring the fifty best players in ACC history.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, 79 , , , , 34.5 , , .465 , , , , .813 , , 2.3 , , 8.6 , , 2.2 , , .1 , , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , , , 32.0 , , .462 , , .174 , , .818 , , 2.1 , , 7.4 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , , , 34.7 , , .478 , , .306 , , .831 , , 1.9 , , 8.8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 65 , , 27.1 , , .439 , , .219 , , .819 , , 1.5 , , 6.3 , , .9 , , .0 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 7 , , 7 , , 23.3 , , .571 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.0 , , 5.4 , , .9 , , .0 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 70 , , 56 , , 20.7 , , .471 , , .125 , , .796 , , 1.4 , , 3.6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 81 , , 55 , , 24.9 , , .502 , , .133 , , .838 , , 1.7 , , 5.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 1 , , 11.6 , , .298 , , .000 , , .889 , , 1.1 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 482 , , 184 , , 28.0 , , .467 , , .210 , , .820 , , 1.8 , , 6.4 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 11.6

Playoffs

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, 8 , , , , 28.6 , , .263 , , , , .563 , , 2.4 , , 5.8 , , 2.4 , , .0 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

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, 3 , , , , 36.7 , , .465 , , .750 , , .818 , , 2.0 , , 8.7 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , , , 31.6 , , .429 , , .000 , , .692 , , 1.6 , , 5.8 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

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, 2 , , , , 2.5 , , .000 , , , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 15 , , , , 27.7 , , .365 , , .600 , , .717 , , 1.7 , , 5.7 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 9.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1974–75 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 31 , , , , , , .516 , , , , .783 , , 2.7 , , 5.2 , , , , , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1975–76 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , , , , , .532 , , , , .780 , , 1.8 , , 7.0 , , 1.8 , , .0 , , 18.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1976–77 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , , , , , .534 , , , , .853 , , 1.9 , , 6.6 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977–78 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , , , , , .527 , , , , .810 , , 2.1 , , 5.7 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 20.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 123 , , , , , , .527 , , , , .808 , , 2.1 , , 6.1 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 18.6

Coaching career

In 1988, he returned to

as an

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultima ...

, and helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1993 national title. After Smith retired in 1997, Ford became the top assistant to his successor,

Bill Guthridge William Wallace Guthridge (July 27, 1937 – May 12, 2015) was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing ...

. Ford left the school following UNC's 1999–2000 season in which they reached the Final Four, along with the rest of Guthridge's staff, when Matt Doherty took over as head coach with his own coaching staff. Ford currently works for the ''Educational Foundation'', the fund-raising arm of the University of North Carolina athletic department. He also briefly served as color commentator on UNC basketball broadcasts. Ford served as an assistant coach to Larry Brown for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

(2004–2005). After a brief stint as an assistant coach to

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...

for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

(2005–2007), Ford was retained in the same position by the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

' new head coach Larry Brown from June 2008 to 2010.

References

External links

College statistics
at Sports-Reference.com
North Carolina Tar Heels bio

at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Phil 1956 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Basketball players from North Carolina Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Kansas City Kings draft picks Kansas City Kings players Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Bucks players National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks assistant coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball announcers North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Sportspeople from Rocky Mount, North Carolina United States men's national basketball team players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople