“In my life journey, my spinal problems have proved to be a blessing for me in disguise as I have got appreciation to play more and more and then given a chance to reach the highest point even.
For me in every game, it is like that I have achieved everything”. These are the words expressed by T.J. Ford while speaking to the Singapore Press.
Terrance Jerod Ford is an American native and a professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). T. J. was his nick name and his mother has named him so at the time of his birth.
He is playing as a point guard for the Indiana Pacers around these days. Ford has remarkably an amazing history of career achievements in the field of basketball.
T.J. Ford was born on March 24, 1983 in Houston at Texas to Leo and Mary Ford. He is six feet tall in height and his listed weight is 165 pounds. Down in his memory lane, he used to play basketball with his brother in the backyard where they were taken by his father.
He has raised a foundation with the label of T.J. Ford Foundation. This organization conducts the community work including the educational, physical, recreational and social activities.
The families and the communities run this foundation in the mutual collaboration. He is an athlete who as played basketball with efficiency from the times of his school days and still this momentum has been maintained by his performances in the field of basketball.
Ford was admitted in the Willowridge High School. He has made a record in his school by helping his team to a 75-1 record during the last two seasons of his stay at the school. He has twice won the state titles of the Texas Class 5A. Then, Ford was enrolled in the University of Texas. He has also performed stunningly there and had won various awards and titles.
It came in the knowledge of Ford that he is suffering from the spinal stenosis. But his morale and spirits were always uplifted and he never gave up playing skillfully in the basketball.
In his University, T.J. Ford has represented the Texas Longhorns for the seasons 2001-02 and 2002-03. Initially, he succeeded to be announced as the First Freshman Player in the NCAA history who has averaged 8.27 assists per game. Then, he was also named as the Big Freshman of the Year.
He has also succeeded in taking his team to the Final Four and it was also a history repeated after the year 1947 in the University of Texas. The, he won the title of the Naismith College Player of the Year and had won the John Wooden awards. The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and CBS SportsLine have also titled him as the Player of the Year in his college times.
He was also named as the Big-12 freshman of the Year.Then, in the year 2003; it came the time in his life when Ford has professionally adopted the basketball and he stands in the platform of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He was selected in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and amazingly on the overall pick of 8th by the Milwaukee Bucks. He has played with them for further three seasons till the year 2006.
He has played with the Toronto Raptors from the year 2006 to the year 2008. T.J. Ford is representing Indiana Pacers from the year 2008 and is still playing with dedication for them.