Chris Ford


Christopher Joseph Ford is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He is known for making the first counted three-point shot on October 1979. A 6-foot-5 guard, he played high school basketball at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey,
before continuing on to Villanova University.
He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. Ford is credited with scoring the NBA's first three-point shot for the Boston Celtics on October 12, 1979, in a game against the Houston Rockets at Boston Garden, which was also the debut game of Indiana State sensation Larry Bird. After winning a championship with the Boston Celtics, he ended his playing career in 1982 with 7,314 total points.
Ford later served as a head coach for the Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. He coached the Eastern All-Stars in the 1991 NBA All-Star game. He also served as an assistant with the Celtics and Sixers.
In addition to coaching at the professional level, Ford spent two seasons as head basketball coach at Brandeis University, a Division III school in Waltham, Mass.
Ford later became a scout for the 76ers. He was also formerly a coaching consultant for the New York Knicks. Ford was at one point considered for the Knicks coaching job in the Summer of 1995 before they decided on Don Nelson.

Coaching record