| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1971-10-31)October 31, 1971 Greenwood, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | September 4, 2004(2004-09-04) (aged 32) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3.75 in (1.92 m) |
| Listed weight | 216 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Amanda Elzy (Greenwood, Mississippi) |
| College | Mississippi Valley State (1989–1993) |
| NBA draft | 1993: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Playing career | 1993–2004 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 |
| Career history | |
| 1993–1995 | Tri-City Chinook |
| 1994 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1995 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1995–1996 | Grupo AGB Huesca |
| 1996–1997 | Papagou |
| 1998–1999 | Sporting |
| 1999–2001 | Peristeri |
| 2001–2002 | Olympiacos |
| 2002–2003 | Montepaschi Siena |
| 2003–2004 | Scavolini Pesaro |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 – September 4, 2004) was an American professionalbasketball player. A 1.92 m (6 ft 33⁄4 in) tall,[1] 98 kg (216 lbs.)[2]shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers incollege basketball history. After a short stint in theNBA, he played professionally in Europe.
Ford confirmed his tremendous scoring ability in theEuroLeague, and became a reference in the matter, notwithstanding his chronic health issues.He was theEuroLeague Top Scorer twice (2001,2002), and earned anAll-EuroLeague selection three times. The competition'sleading scorer award bears his name, in his honor.
Ford was a high school star player forAmanda Elzy High School inGreenwood, Mississippi. Upon enteringcollege basketball atMississippi Valley State University, Ford led the entireNCAA Division I in freshman scoring, during the 1989–90 season, with a 29.9 points per game average. In his sophomore year, he averaged 32.7 points per game.[3] He became the first player in NCAA Division I history to average 25 points per game in four straight seasons. With 3,165 career points scored in the NCAA Division I, he is5th on the all-time scoring list, behind onlyPete Maravich,Freeman Williams,Lionel Simmons, andChris Clemons. Ford was a four-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) selection; a feat that only he andHarry Kelly accomplished.[4]
Ford played five games in the1994–95 NBA season for thePhiladelphia 76ers, who selected him 32nd overall in the1993 NBA draft. Before that, he had played six games for theSeattle SuperSonics, in1993–94. During both the 1993–94 and 1994–95 NBA seasons, Ford played in theContinental Basketball Association (CBA) for theTri-City Chinook. He averaged 22.8 points per game in his rookie year with the Chinook and he was selected to the All-CBA First Team and namedRookie of the Year.[5] Ford averaged 24.0 points per game during the 1994–95 season with the Chinook.[5]
In the1995–96 season, Ford signed withSpanish first division clubPeñas Huesca. However, although he played great basketball and averaged 25.1 points per game in the Spanish League, he could not prevent the team'srelegation. The next season was for Ford the opportunity to show his skills, in what was at the time Europe's most competitive national domestic league, theGreek Basket League. He spent the season withPapagou, and led the team to a ninth-place finish, while also beingthe Greek competition's leading scorer, with 23.9 points per contest. Nevertheless, glory at the European-wide level turned out to be a little bit more far away than the great scorer thought. Before the beginning of the 1997–98 season, he was diagnosed withleukemia, thus obligingPapagou to break his contract. The treatment cost Ford the whole season, but he was convinced that he had a lot more to contribute. He signed a one-year deal withSporting, a traditional Greek club that was struggling to remain in Greece's top basketball scene. The giftedshooting guard helped the team finish in a decent eleventh-place finish, but most importantly, he defied his disease, in an utterly remarkable way.
Ford agreed to a two-year deal with the Greek clubNikas Peristeri, before theGreek Basket League 1999–2000 season, experiencing the game, within a team with considerably higher ambitions than any of the ones he had played for in the past. Needless to say, the challenge was accepted by the player, who would become a reference in the club's history. Ford averaged 22.7 points per game in the Greek League, leading Peristeri to a fifth-place finish in the league. Also, he made his first appearance in a European-wide competition, by playing in theEuropean-wide 3rd-tier levelFIBA Korać Cup's1999–2000 season, where he scored 20.7 points per game, and reached the competition's top 16 with his team, before they lost toAdecco Estudiantes.
The real breakout season for Ford though, was going to be his second one withPeristeri, in 2000–01. The team contended for theGreek Basket League 2000–01 season title, and ended up in the league's third-place position, while he was named theleague's MVP. In parallel, the club also took part inEuroleague Basketball'sEuroLeague 2000–01 season, and Ford shined, while playing for the first time atthe highest European-wide league level. He was theEuroLeague Top Scorer, averaging 26 points per game, and had a memorable 41-point outburst againstTau Ceramica in the competition's playoffs, scoring more than half of his team's 79 points that night. Tau qualified for the quarterfinals, sweeping the playoff series between the two teams, by two games to none, but Ford's performance is now part of theEuroLeague legend. Finally, his nomination to theAll-EuroLeague2000–01 First Team, was at the same time, a huge recognition, and an official introduction to superstar status.
In the 2001–02 season, the Greek EuroLeague powerhouse,Olympiacos, offered Ford a $1 million net income single-year contract. His mission was to bring a team that had not won anything since thetriple crown in 1997, back to the top. Ford signed the deal, and the results were immediate: he led the Reds to aGreek Cup trophy, with 20 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds, in the cup's semifinal againstBodiroga'sPanathinaikos, and 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, in the cup's final game, to defeatMaroussi, by a score of 66–74. In theEuroLeague 2001–02 season,Olympiacos made it to the competition's Top 16 stage, and fell one game short of reaching theEuroLeague Final Four. Ford could actually not prevent an 85–89 home loss toOlimpija Ljubljana, although he had a solid performance that night, with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He was once again the EuroLeague'sTop Scorer, at 24.8 points per game, and was selected to theAll-EuroLeague2001–02 Second Team. The season ended with a loss in theGreek League's championship finals series toAEK, with Ford missing the last two crucial games of the series, due to an injury.
Olympiacos changed for theEuroLeague 2002–03 season. The major Greek EuroLeague clubs were forced to reduce their budgets, due to the renovation of their arenas for the2004 Summer Olympics, inAthens. They therefore became considerably less competitive in the league. Ford's contract with Olympiacos was subsequently not renewed, and he signed a new contract with theItalian league'sEuroLeague contender,Mens Sana Siena. Ford had a quick adaptation period to his new team, and although his scoring average in the EuroLeague dropped to 17.9 points per game, he was selected to theAll-EuroLeague2002–03 First Team, afterSiena qualified to the2003 EuroLeague Final Four. Unfortunately, Ford had one of his worst shooting nights ever, in the semifinal againstBenetton Treviso: he scored 15 points, making only 5 of his 19 shots. His 7 rebounds and 2 steals did not allow his team to overcome Benetton's obstacle, as they lost 62–65 in a highly intense game. In theItalian League 2002–03 season, Ford averaged 19.1 points per game, andSiena finished in fourth place in the league.
Despite his leukemia being in an advanced stage, Ford played theItalian League 2003–04 season withScavolini Pesaro. Averaging 22.2 points per game in the Italian League, Ford, in his final season, helped Scavolini finish in fourth place in the Italian League, which meant the team qualified to the next season'sEuroLeague, and to theItalian Cup's runner-up position, despite being near death.
Less than two weeks after announcing his retirement from theEuroLeague, Ford died from leukemia, at age 32.[6] He is survived by his wife Paula, their daughter Quekenshia, and their sons Karlderek, Alphonso Jr. In Ford's honor, the EuroLeague named its trophy for the leading scorer of the year, theAlphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy. The player who replaced Ford on Scavolini Pesaro, following his death,Charles Smith, would win the award the very next season.
In 2021, a documentary dedicated to the life of Alphonso Ford, titled Alphonso Ford: Score Until The Last Day, premiered at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, receiving critical acclaim.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | MVSU | 27 | – | 31.8 | .441 | .361 | .737 | 4.9 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .2 | 29.9 |
| 1990–91 | MVSU | 28 | – | 33.4 | .487 | .331 | .765 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | .1 | 32.7 |
| 1991–92 | MVSU | 26 | – | 33.2 | .450 | .303 | .757 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 2.5 | .4 | 27.5 |
| 1992–93 | MVSU | 28 | – | 32.7 | .436 | .352 | .791 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 1.9 | .4 | 26.0 |
| Career | 109 | – | 32.8 | .454 | .338 | .763 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 2.0 | .3 | 29.0 | |