Donald J. Ford (born December 31, 1952) is a former American

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 ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA) for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

. He also was a member of the Auxilium Torino in Europe. 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 ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

Early years

Ford attended

Santa Barbara High School Santa Barbara Senior High School, "Home of the Dons," is situated on a sprawling campus in Santa Barbara, California in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Among the oldest high schools in California and one of five high schools in the Dis ...

. He was a teammate of future NBA player

Keith Wilkes Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (born Jackson Keith Wilkes; May 2, 1953), better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is an American former basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star, he won four NBA ...

(later Jamaal Wilkes). He enrolled at

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, ma ...

. As a freshman in the 1971–1972 season, he contributed to a 26–6 record and a

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Calif ...

Championship. He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game, including 3 contests with 29 points. He received first-team All-American honors by the California Junior College Federation. He transferred to the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

after his freshman season. As a sophomore, he was a backup, posting 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. He transferred to the

at the end of his sophomore season. As a junior, he sat out the season because of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's transfer rules. As a senior, he averaged 19.6 points (led the team), 8.4 rebounds (led the team) and 2.5 assists (second on the team).

Professional career

Ford was selected by the

in the 6th round (92nd overall) of the

1975 NBA Draft The 1975 NBA draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 29, 1975, before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

. He spent four-and-a-half seasons with the team and was mostly know for his defense, while averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. In the 1979–80 championship season, his playing time was limited behind

Jamaal Wilkes Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (born Jackson Keith Wilkes; May 2, 1953), better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is an American former basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star, he won four NBA ...

Jim Chones James Bernett “Bunny” Chones (born November 30, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player, and current radio analyst for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A 6'11" forward/center, Chones starred at Marquette University, where he earne ...

and

Spencer Haywood Spencer Haywood (born April 22, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015. High school career In 1964, Hayw ...

. On February 15, 1980, he was traded along with a 1980 1st round draft pick (#22-

Chad Kinch Chadwick Oliver Kinch ( – ) was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6'4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) shooting guard and played collegiately at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte after starring at Perth Amb ...

) to the

, in exchange for

Butch Lee Alfred "Butch" Lee Jr. (born December 5, 1956) is a Puerto Rican retired professional basketball player. Lee was the first Puerto Rican and first Latin American-born athlete to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), accomplishing thi ...

and a 1982 1st round draft pick (#1-

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers ...

). On January 19, 1982, he was waived after being passed on the depth chart by

Keith Herron Keith Orlando Herron (born June 14, 1956) is an American former basketball player. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee. As a 6'7" forward out of Mackin High School in Washington, D.C., he played collegiately at Villanova University. At the end ...

. He played in 474 games, averaging 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. In 1982, he signed with the Auxilium Torino in Italy's

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

Personal life

In 1989, he was named

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 horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hung ...

and director of community relations to the

Santa Barbara Islanders The Santa Barbara Islanders were a professional basketball team based in Santa Barbara, California. They played only one season in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Associatio ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

. Ford was married to Patti Tate, sister of actress

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

. They had three children. He currently lives in Santa Barbara where he works as a real estate agent, as well as serving as color commentator on UCSB basketball radio broadcasts.

References

External links

NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com

@ lakersweb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Don 1952 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from California Cleveland Cavaliers players Continental Basketball Association coaches Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players Santa Barbara City Vaqueros men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball players