Chris Ford

Ford, who made history on Oct. 12, 1979, became a head coach in the NBA after his playing days.

He was a member of three NBA World Championship Boston Celtics teams, one as a key player on the 1981 Champions, and subsequently as an assistant coach for the 1984 and 1986 champs. The Boston Celtics sends their deepest sympathies to the Ford family and their many friends. He had a great love for his family, the city of Boston, the fans, and the entire Celtics family. [Boston Celtics](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/BOS/boston-celtics/) player and head coach Chris Ford has died at the age of 74, the team announced Wednesday. Prior to playing in Boston, he spent six seasons with the [Detroit Pistons](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/DET/detroit-pistons/), who selected him out of Villanova in the second round of the 1972 [NBA Draft](/nba/draft/). As a player and coach, Chris Ford's career spanned over a decade of Celtics basketball, and he made his mark every step of the way.

Ford was front and center at a hinge point of basketball history. He made the first three-pointer in the history of the NBA.

“He was one of the first big guards, a 6-6 guard.” “He’s old school,” O’Hanlon said. “A winner,” Ingelsby said. “He was kind of ahead of his time, in terms of throwing his arms up to the crowd — very emotional,” said another former teammate, Fran O’Hanlon, who was a couple of years ahead of Ford. waving a towel on the bench, raising his arms after a big bucket … Ford later was a Sixers assistant in 2003-04 before becoming interim head coach for the last 30 games, which included a benching of Iverson for missing practices, and Iverson saying Ford had told him that his teammates didn’t respect Iverson. Villanova under Jack Kraft would play what was known as a Ball Defense, a matchup zone, with Ford on one of the wings. “He just played team ball.” “He would celebrate and pump up the crowd. Nobody paid any attention to the crowd.” Ford was front and center at a hinge point of basketball history. A Big 5 player of the year at Villanova, Ford played all 40 minutes in the 1971 NCAA title game against UCLA.

Boston Celtics Statement: As a player and coach, Chris Ford's career spanned over a decade of Celtics basketball, and he made his mark every step of the way. He ...

The Boston Celtics sends their deepest sympathies to the Ford family and their many friends. He had a great love for his family, the city of Boston, the fans, and the entire Celtics family. He always showed humility and respect for all those that were fortunate enough to be a part of his life.