| No. 4, 6, 1, 3 | |
|---|---|
| Point guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | July 12, 1972 |
| Place of birth | Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Springfield Central |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Georgia Tech (1991–1995) |
| NBA Draft | 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall |
| Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |
| Pro career | 1995–2009 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–2002 | Indiana Pacers |
| 2002 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2002–2003 | Miami Heat |
| 2003–2004 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2004–2005 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2005–2006 | UNICS Kazan (Russia) |
| 2006–2007 | VidiVici Bologna (Italy) |
| 2007 | Asseco Prokom Gdynia (Poland) |
| 2007–2008 | La Fortezza Bologna (Italy) |
| 2008–2009 | Air Avellino (Italy) |
| 2009 | NSB Napoli (Italy) |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,736 (7.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,249 (1.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,444 (3.5 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Travis Eric Best (born July 12, 1972 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the NBA and in Europe.
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Best attended Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts and played basketball there. During his senior season, Best scored a state record 81 points in a single game.[1] In the next game, he scored 50 points. With then-sophomore teammate Edgar Padilla, a future UMass standout, Best led his team to the state championship. After considering both UConn and The University of Virginia, Best chose Georgia Tech.[2] Best participated in the 1991 McDonald's All-American Game, played at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and featuring NBA players Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Alan Henderson, Cherokee Parks and Donyell Marshall. He was also named a Parade All-American and participated in that year's McDonald's Capital Classic as a member of the "U.S. All-Stars", alongside Webber and Parks.
At Georgia Tech, Best teamed with fellow McDonald's All-American James Forrest for four years, to become one half of a potent inside-outside combo in the always-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and helped to lead the Yellow Jackets to the 1993 ACC Tournament Championship, its first since 1990. He would go on to excel as one of the league's premier players and was named to the ACC's Third Team as a sophomore, earning Second Team honors as both a junior and senior. He also led the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio and free throw percentage as a senior, while capturing ACC Player of the Week honors a league-record five times. Over a stretch of 10 games in 1995, during which Forrest was inactive due to an ankle injury, Best picked up the slack, averaging over 25 points per game. Upon graduation, Best ranked in the top six in Tech history in points, assists, minutes, 3-point field goals made and steals, finishing as one of only three ACC players to score over 2,000 points and tally over 600 assists (UNC's Phil Ford and Maryland's Greivis Vasquez are the other two) in a career. He also earned honorable mention All-American honors from The Associated Press while also receiving a nomination for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the best player in the nation under 6 feet (1.8 m).
Best was drafted 23rd overall in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers.[2] He has played for the Pacers, the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks and the New Jersey Nets, averaging 7.6 points and 3.5 assists per game.
After taking several years to adjust to the nightly competition of the NBA, Best found his niche and became a vital back-up at the point guard position on the 1999-2000 Indiana Pacers team that went to the 2000 NBA Finals. Best hit the game winning 3-pointer in the decisive fifth game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. During Best's last half season with the Pacers he was unhappy that he was passed over as starting point guard (Jamaal Tinsley got the spot). During that season he requested a trade and was granted a trade to the Chicago Bulls. In the trade the Bulls sent Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie to the Pacers for Best, Jalen Rose and Norman Richardson, as well as a future second-round pick.
Travis Best was represented by Gary Ebert in his career as a basketball player.[3]
Best had a small role in the 1998 Spike Lee film He Got Game, which also featured NBA players Ray Allen, Walter McCarty, John Wallace, and Rick Fox.
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