Having felt he had nothing more to prove at college level, Ford decided to turn professional after his second year of college to enter the 2003 NBA draft, and was heralded by NBA.com as having "the prescient ability to see the play before it happens, like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird". Ford was picked eighth in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks in a very strong draft class, which featured future NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony. In his first season, he led the Bucks in assists with 6.5 assists per game, while tallying 7.1 points per game (ppg). Ford was also selected to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team. However, he played in only 55 games that season before an injury forced him to miss the final 26 games of the regular season and the 2004 NBA Playoffs. The injury occurred on February 24, 2004, during a home game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves where he fell on his tail bone after being fouled by center Mark Madsen. He suffered a contusion of the spinal cord, a career-threatening injury.