Okay, so today I wanna talk about digging into TJ Ford’s old Spurs clips. Honestly, it started ’cause I was scrolling through some vintage NBA highlights late one night, you know how that goes. Saw this dude absolutely zipping around defenders and was like, man, what made him tick? Decided to break it down myself.
Getting the Footage Ready
First thing, I hunted down some full Spurs games from back when TJ played there. YouTube searches like crazy – “TJ Ford Spurs full game,” things like that. Took forever to find decent quality stuff from 07-08. Burned ’em onto an external drive ’cause my laptop’s old and stutters with HD vids.
The Rewind-Play-Rewind Marathon
Started with the first clip I found: TJ driving baseline against Phoenix. My process was basically:
- Hit play until the play starts
- Rewind immediately after
- Watch at 0.5x speed
- Pause when he makes a choice
- Scribble notes in my busted notebook
Did this for hours. My coffee went cold like three times. Watched that baseline drive 20+ times trying to see how he kept his dribble so tight while moving that fast. Took notes like, “left hand shield? knee bent LOW before burst?” Real messy stuff.
Trying It Live at the YMCA
Next day, went to the local court with my buddy Dave who guards me tough. Tried replicating Ford’s push-pace thing where he’d hesitate at half-court then blow by. First few tries were trash – Dave stole it twice ’cause I telegraphed. But around try #15, something clicked:
- That tiny shoulder dip TJ does? Copied it
- Kept my dribble hip-height like he did
- Stopped looking at the ball mid-sprint
Finally beat Dave clean. He shouted “yo since when?!” Felt awesome. Took a water break sweating buckets and realized Ford’s speed wasn’t just legs – it was reading defenders before they set.
The Big Takeaways
After practicing all week, here’s what stuck with me:
- Dribble = weapon, not just control. TJ used low bounces like jabs to create angles I never tried.
- His eyes tricked people. Always looked toward shooters even when driving, freezing help D.
- Transition wasn’t sprinting – it was controlled chaos. He slowed just enough to make big men commit too early.
Still ain’t half as quick as prime TJ Ford, but man, studying his game made me rethink how I attack the paint. Gonna grind this stuff all summer.
