The John R.
The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it's 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
Terrance Jerod Ford was born March 24, 1983 in Houston, Texas, and at a young age he knew his life would be centered around the game of basketball, especially after witnessing his hometown Houston Rockets win back-to-back NBA titles in the 1990s.
Ford, nicknamed “T.J.” by his mother, first played competitively at Willowridge High School and helped lead the Eagles to a 75–1 record (including a 62-game win streak) in his final two seasons, earning a pair of Texas Class 5A state titles in the process. Not long after, however, he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition with symptoms of numbness, tingling and overall weakness in the back, neck and/or limbs. Nonetheless he still went on to play basketball for the Texas Longhorns for two seasons (2001-2003).
In his first year Ford not only led the team in steals and minutes per game, but became the first freshman player in NCAA history to lead the nation in assists (8.3 per game). His play helped Texas reach the Sweet Sixteen, while he put up 15 double-digit assist games and was named the consensus Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
In 2003, the sophomore ranked third in the nation in assists (7.7 per game), and led the Longhorns in scoring, assists and steals. Ford was also named South Regional Most Valuable Player while leading the Longhorns to the Final Four for the first time since 1947.
At season’s end, the consensus First Team All-American won the prestigious James Naismith and John R. Wooden College Player of the Year awards, in addition to being named Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, ESPN.com and CBS SportsLine.
After just two years of college basketball Ford decided to turn professional and entered the 2003 NBA draft where he was chosen eighth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. That’s quite the achievement considering the strength of that draft class, which included future NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony.
In his first season, he led the Bucks with 6.5 assists per game and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Known for his baggy shorts and high basketball IQ, he would play in only 55 games before a severe injury forced him to miss the remainder of the 2003-04 season, including the playoffs.
Ford had suffered a contusion of the spinal cord, a career-threatening injury that caused him to miss the entire 2004-05 season. At the conclusion of the season a statement was released by the Los Angeles Spine Surgery Institute stating that said Ford had made a complete recovery.
The 6-0 floor general rejoined the Bucks when training camp began and in his first game back he posted a 16 point, 14 assist and 9 rebound stat line in a road win over the Philadelphia 76ers. As the season progressed Ford showed little-to-no effects from his injury, ending the regular season averaging 12.2 points and 6.6 assists per contest.
“In a way, all my lifelong battles with my spinal problems were a blessing in disguise,” he said in 2007. “It made me appreciate the game more, that I'm still given a chance to play it at the highest level. And in every game, that always makes me want to give it everything I've got.”
Heading into the 2006–07 season the Toronto Raptors overhauled their roster and were in need of a true floor general and acquired Ford, who was immediately installed as the starting point guard. He ended the regular season with career highs in scoring (14.0 ppg) and assists (7.9 apg), and he and Christ Bosh were credited with bringing the Raptors their first-ever Atlantic Division title and first playoff appearance in five years.
Early the following season, however, Ford suffered what appeared to be a serious injury in a game against the Atlanta Hawks. He was conscious but did not appear to move before he was taken off the court strapped to a stretcher. He made his return in February of 2008, but to the bench.
He would spend the next two seasons playing for the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs before signing to play with KK Zagreb of Croatia. He played in just two EuroLeague games and in one Adriatic League game.
In December 2011, Ford returned to the Spurs with his final NBA game being played on March 7, 2012. After playing on only 14 games that season, he announced his retirement on Twitter.
Off the court he founded the T. J. Ford Foundation back in 2004, an organization seeking to enhance individuals through programs designed to develop their educational, recreational, physical and social well-being in collaboration with family and community.
Finally, in 2017, a full five years after leaving the game, Ford graduated from the University of Texas, earning a bachelor's degree in Youth and Community Studies, with a minor in Educational Psychology.
"I had a promising start to my career. I mean, it was a trip, for sure, he would say of his basketball journey. “Every night I was playing against the likes of Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson — it was surreal. And even after games when I had gotten my ass kicked, I was able to keep my chin up because I was living my dream.”
He was right, sometimes your battles can be blessings in disguise.
Category: General Sports
