Don Ford

Donald J. Ford (born December 31, 1952) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a 6'9" (2.06 m), 215 lb (97.5 kg) forward. In high school, he played at Santa Barbara High School and the other forward on his teams was future UCLA and NBA star Keith Wilkes (later Jamaal Wilkes). He played collegiately at the University of New Mexico before transferring to the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Ford was selected with the second pick of the sixth round of the 1975 NBA Draft by the L.A. Lakers. He spent four-and-a-half seasons with the Lakers before he was traded along with a 1980 first round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Butch Lee and a 1982 first round draft pick, which ultimately became first overall pick James Worthy.[1][2]

After he was released by the Cavaliers in 1982, Ford spent two years playing professionally in Italy. Over 474 NBA games, he averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. In 1989, he was named assistant coach and director of community relations to the Santa Barbara Islanders of the Continental Basketball Association.[3]

Ford was married to Sharon Tate's sister Patti, with whom he had three children.[4] Today, he lives in Santa Barbara where he works as a real estate agent, as well as serving as color commentator on UCSB basketball radio broadcasts.