San Antonio Spurs reserve point guard T.J. Ford decides to call it quits - NBA News
T.J. Ford has finally decided to throw in the towel.
“I think I succeeded at beating the odds, of being the little guy, making it to the NBA and lasting as long as I did. I think I achieved a lot”.
The San Antonio Spurs point guard promulgated on Monday that he is retiring from professional basketball.
His decision followed his latest scare due to his surgically repaired spine. The 28 years old was motionless on the floor in the game against New York Knicks on March 7th. He was playing his 14th game in this
season when Knicks’ guard Baron Davis hit him in the back with an elbow that knocked him down to the ground.
"If it's anybody else, it's just a regular play," Ford said at a Spurs practice before Monday's game against Washington. "But because of me and my condition, a simple elbow in the back has a different outcome than hitting someone
else in the back."
The 28 years old was awarded the 2003 Naismith and John Wooden player of the year award, he was the 8th overall pick in 2003 NBA Draft, roped in by the Milwaukee Bucks. After playing 55 games in his rookie season Minnesota
Timberwolves Mark Madsen changed his world.
Ford was executing a jumper when Mark charged toward him and he landed on his tailbone and instantly went numb. He was carted off the ground on a stretcher afterwards and went on to sit out the entire 2004-2005 season. Later on
in 2005, he was proclaimed fit by the Los Angeles Spine Surgery Institute.
He was traded to Toronto Raptors and played the 06-07 season as a starting point guard there. Injuries however again came in his way and in 2008 he was traded off to Indiana Pacers where in 2009, he tallied his career best 36 points
in a game against New York Knicks. He boarded San Antonio Spurs wagon in December 2011and had been struggling in the 14 games he played for Spurs, averaging 3.6 points and 3.2 assists per game.
His best performance in this season was in the game against Charlotte Bobcats, a game that San Antonio won by a huge 102-72 margin. Ford had 7 points and 3 assists in that game.
Overall, he had a great run as he played 429 games in which he averaged 11.2 points to go with 5.8 assists and 3.1 boards per game. He played an average of 27.7 minutes per game and made 1.16 steals. He will be remembered for his
7 devoted years to the game while his early retirement will leave his fans poignant.
Tags: