# @tjfordbasketball on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DNvZDrV2gX3
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/33661087-tjfordbasketball-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e1706c8639.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-08-24T14:06:05.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** TJ Ford Academy (@tjfordbasketball) — https://gondola.cc/tjfordbasketball

## Caption

My relationship with basketball didn’t start on a court. It began in the kitchen of a trailer in Baytown, Texas.
I was four years old when Santa brought my older brother Tim and I a couple of those plastic Little Tikes basketball hoops. Both of us were raised to be basketball fans. My dad played in rec leagues into his 50s and he bought my brother and I whatever gear he could afford. My brother had a Magic Johnson uniform — jersey and shorts — and I had one for Michael Jordan, my favorite player.
From that point on my brother and I would play full court — kitchen to living room — pretty much whenever we could. I’d like to think MJ got the best of most of those matchups.
As a teenager I played at the local YMCA, and that’s where I really fell in love with the game. I was never the biggest kid in the gym, but from early on I had a desire to be great. It seemed ridiculous to say out loud, but I wanted to be the best point guard in the NBA one day.
There was a lot of athletic talent where I grew up, but not much mentorship and guidance. Because of that, not many guys from my neighborhood made it to college. Even the ones who did get offered scholarships would often end up making mistakes and losing them. I wanted to break that cycle. I wanted to be the first person from my family to go to college, and, God willing, to play in the NBA.
#playerstribune #tjford #timford #tjfordacademy #juice #faithnfam #livinglegend

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 630
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 35

## Tags

playerstribune, tjfordacademy, faithnfam, livinglegend, juice, tjford, timford

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