Chris Ford, who made NBA's first three-pointer, dunked on Julius Erving, dies at age 74

Ford averaged 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds over his three seasons at Villanova before being selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of 1972 NBA Draft. Ford averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals in 26.8 minutes per game across 485 career regular-season games in Detroit. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in October 1978.

The shooting guard joined Boston eight months before the NBA adopted the three-point line, and on opening night of the 1979-80 campaign, he drilled the history-making shot during a win against the Houston Rockets. Including his career-high 15.4 points per game during the 1978-79 season, Ford posted 10.3 points per contest in 309 regular-season games (201 starts) in Boston.

The Atlantic City, N.J.native helped the Celtics win the NBA title in 1981 on a loaded roster that featured the likes of Hall of Famers Tiny Archibald, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, as well as that year's Finals MVP, Cedric Maxwell. Following his playing career, Ford spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with Boston — winning two more championships — and five as head coach, while also coaching with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers.

Speaking of the Sixers, while playing with the Celtics, Ford also reportedly once dunked on the legendary Hall of Famer Julius Erving, who is one of the most famous dunkers in league history. According to CBS Boston, Ford's dunk on "Dr. J" earned the guard a nickname of his own from his Boston teammates: "Doc."