He’s been playing basketball in his backyard ever since he was young, he played in high school, college and now, he’s finally a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He holds a long string of achievements of which the latest include being voted the fastest NBA player in a Sports Illustrated 2007 survey, ending the 2006-7 regular season with 14.0 PPG (points per game) and 7.9 APG (assists per game, attributed to players who pass the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by a field goal), both of which are career highs.

He was given credit for bringing the Toronto Raptors to their first playoff berth in 5 years and also helping them clinch their very first division title.

Terrance Jerod Ford, that’s who he is, a rising NBA star who also believes in giving back to the community and probably the most down to earth guy ever.

A relatively new NBA player, T.J. has been a professional basketball player since 2003 where he was first with the Milwaukee Bucks. After suffering a serious injury to his spine, he made a comeback after 1½ years, and was bought over by the Raptors. A wise choice as proven by results of the 2006-7 regular season.

The 3-day NBA Madness Tour which was at VELOCITY @ Novena Square from Aug 31 to Sep 2 gave locals a chance to mingle with T.J. as he taught kids several drills and even played several matches with some very lucky basketball players!

Of course, UrbanWire wouldn’t miss out the chance to get up close and personal with the man himself. So don’t start hammering yourself for missing out on a chance to meet T.J. in person, start scrolling to find out more about him as we have a heart-to-heart with T.J. Ford!

Ford on Court

UrbanWire (UW): You’re rising very fast as a professional basketball player. Do you look up to any NBA player in particular and why?

T.J.: Definitely. Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett… The list can go on and on. They’re the reason why I want to play NBA, they’re fun, for my generation. I just like their personality.

UW: What was on your mind when you fell on your tailbone after being fouled by Mark Madsen?

T.J.: Scar-ry. The first thing I thought was, “I’m paralysed.” I couldn’t feel anything. My body was numb, for maybe 5, 10 minutes? I couldn’t move. My body was definitely in shock. I just had to wait till the paramedics came and gave me instructions on what to do.

UW: What’s usually on your mind when you’re playing on court?

T.J.: On mah mind? Winning. Winning is e-verything. Just being competitive and wanting to win.

UW: Do you aim to be or think of yourself as the next Michael Jordan?

T.J.: No. I’m not the next Michael Jordan. I don’t think there can ever be another Michael Jordan.

Ford off Court

UW: You have so many commitments. The foundation, family, your career, your team mates, how do you keep a balance and what’s most important to you?

T.J.: Time management is how you keep a balance. It’s tough. But the most important thing to me is family ‘cos they give me a lot of support, you know they’ll help through the good times and the bad times.

UW: What has been your greatest challenge throughout the path to where you are today?

T.J.: The biggest challenge to me was, having to work extremely hard to get back to this level. ‘Cos I didn’t play for a year and a half, I wasn’t allowed to shoot, wasn’t allowed to run so I had to retrain my mind mentally just to get back to this NBA level, so that’s the hardest thing I had to overcome.

UW: Taking into consideration how competitive basketball is in America, was it very difficult for you to juggle your studies and basketball at the same time?

T.J.: Definitely. It’s definitely tough because college, we take 4, 5 classes a semester. A lot of tests, a lot of studying but they give us a lot of mentors throughout the process but it’s pretty tough. But you know the rules where we’re from in the States is you must pass to play. So if you don’t pass, you cannot play in sports.

UW: What would TJ Ford be doing if he wasn’t a basketball player?

T.J.: If I wasn’t a basketball player? I probably would be a basketball coach, teacher.

UW: So it’s all about basketball ?

T.J.: YEAH!

UW: How do you feel, having fulfilled your childhood dream of being a professional basketball player?

T.J.: Being in NBA is definitely a dream come true. I just have one more dream, and that’s to be considered the best point guard of NBA so I’m still living a dream, trying to accomplish a dream within another dream.

UW: Do you have the same aspirations for your son, do you wish for him to be a pro basketball player too?

T.J.: (With a wide smile on his face) I hope so! I hope he can keep the name going, I hope he can be better than me, if he chooses to play basketball.

FYI, T.J.’s son is named T.J. Junior! Keep a look out for the NBA’s next T.J. in years to come!

Ford Foundation

UW: What inspired you to set up the T.J. Ford Foundation?

T.J.: The cause was set up when I got injured, I had a lot of free time and I always wanted to give back to my community, to give back to others who are not fortunate or have the opportunities that some kids have. So I just feel that it’s my responsibility to give back and help those kids out. Help them to believe, aspire and be successful in life.

Ford and S’pore

UW: The tour actually aims to promote basketball through interactive ways to the youth, do you feel that you have achieved your aim?

T.J.: I think for this trip, I think we have. We have so many young kids and family coming down to NBA Madness to support the activities. I think we have definitely achieved this goal. Hopefully with this experience, we leave Singapore with the attitude of wanting to play basketball.

UW: Singaporean youths are normally advised to concentrate more in academic studies. What’s your take on this?

T.J.: I think academics are first, a sport is always secondary. I wish a lot more kids where I’m from would have that mindset but it’s not quite the same. But I think academics always gonna take you a lot further than sports. It’s so hard to be a professional athlete I think, in any sport. Basketball, football, baseball… whatever case may be. It’s extremely hard. Academics are with you forever, basketball is not forever.

UW: Do you have tips for aspiring kids who wish to be basketball players? Especially Asians, who tend to have a smaller built.

T.J.: Yeah, you just got to outwork everybody. Do more than the next person, because of your height, because of your size. And a lot of people always gonna look, to always say that you’re not good enough, or you’re not big enough. So you always gotta prove yourself to those critics.

UW: What do you like best here so far?

T.J.: The atmosphere, the city… very modern! The people are very nice, make me feel like I’m at home. And the food of course. We have something that’s called Orange Chicken, that’s something like American Chinese food. They have Lemon Chicken, we have this. It’s just different. It’s good, but this is like the real deal. Like the Chilli Crab, never had it. I don’t see anywhere in Houston that’s got that. Yeah you know, I may try it again tonight. You know, got mah clothes dirty, okay, you know I was a lil’ messy with it. But it was good.

Ford’s Favourites

UW: Being an athlete, do you have a strict diet? What do you usually eat to keep in shape?

T.J.: Summertime, I eat whatever I feel like. I have no diet plan, I eat a lot of unhealthy food. During the course of the season I eat extremely healthy, I eat a lot of baked food. Fish, a lot of vegetables. I try to stay away from fried food, but that’s kind of tough for me.

UW: How about comfort food ? What would be your favourite food?

T.J.: Favourite food… Fried chicken’s my favourite. We have this place that’s very original, in Houston, called Frenchy’s. Very, very good. Mah favourite. Well, I love Asian food too!

UW: So are there any local delicacies you’ve tried?

T.J.: Yes, chilli crab, satay (grilled slices of dice-sized meat that are served with spicy gravy on bamboo skewers), the big ole’ prawns.

UW: Do you like it?

T.J.: YEAH.

UW: Was the Chilli Crab too spicy?

T.J.: No, where I’m from, we use a lot of spices so it sits well in my stomach.

UW: You like listening to rap and hip hop, who are some of your favourite artists?

T.J.: Snoop Dogg, mah favourite. Jay Z, 50 Cent, Eminem, Ludacris, Lil’ Wayne, you heard of him? No? You’ll hear from him pretty soon. He’s good.

Modest, determined and the epitome of a family man, T.J. Ford has his feet firmly on the ground and his head firmly on his shoulders. Watch this space because T.J. is set to take on newer heights and UrbanWire will be right here next to him.