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Massachusetts high school honors former NBA player Travis Best by renaming their basketball court

Lawrence Andrew Fernandezby:Lawrence Fernandez•03/24/25•

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Travis Best
Former NBA player Travis Best (Credit: Gainbridge Fieldhouse account on X/Twitter, @GainbridgeFH)

Springfield Central High School will honor former National Basketball Association player Travis Best by naming their basketball court after him. As WWLP.com’s Ciara Speller wrote, the Springfield School Committee unanimously voted to rename the court after one of their legends.

While he last played professional basketball 16 years ago, Best remains an influential figure in the Springfield community. He maintains a foundation that “teaches youth to utilize all of the academic and life resources that sports, arts, and an education affords using sportsmanship training, music and visual art workshops.”

Before suiting up for Georgia Tech, Best made a name with the Golden Eagles. He led the team to a 69-4 record in three seasons while earning the award for Western Massachusetts’ best player. In his final high school basketball year, the Golden Eagles completed an undefeated 25-0 record en route to a Division 1 state championship.

That achievement earned Travis Best a McDonald’s All-American and a Parade All-American selection. After representing the Yellow Jackets, the Indiana Pacers selected him in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft.

Best played for a decade in the NBA, spending most of his career with the Pacers. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, and the New Jersey Nets. The three-time All-ACC member finished his NBA career with 5,818 points, 1,375 rebounds, and 2,617 assists in 771 games.

After the NBA, Best continued playing professional basketball in Russia, Italy, and Poland. He helped Asseco Prokom Gdynia win the 2007 Polish championship. Two years later, he wrapped up his professional basketball career with the Italian basketball club NSB Napoli.

The court featuring Travis Best’s name will be a central venue for Springfield Central’s basketball activities. Their boys basketball team finished with a 20-7 record and reached the state semifinals of the Massachusetts Division 1 state tournament. Meanwhile, their girls basketball team had a 20-5 record and also reached the state semifinals.