Travis Best

Last updated
Travis Best
Travis Best Virtus 2007 (cropped).jpg
Personal information
Born (1972-07-12) July 12, 1972 (age 51)
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight182 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High school Springfield Central
(Springfield, Massachusetts)
College Georgia Tech (1991–1995)
NBA draft 1995: 1st round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career1995–2009
Position Point guard
Number4, 6, 1, 3
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
2006–2007 Virtus Bologna
2007 Asseco Prokom Gdynia
2007–2008Virtus Bologna
2008–2009 Air Avellino
2009 NSB Napoli
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 5,736 (7.6 ppg)
Rebounds 1,249 (1.8 rpg)
Assists 2,444 (3.5 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Travis Best (born July 12, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Europe.

Contents

Best was one of the athletes –among other victims –successfully targeted by professional scam artist/fraudster Peggy Ann Fulford.

High school career

Best attended Springfield Central High School, starring on teams that amassed a 69–4 record in his three seasons, earning the Lahovich Award as the top player in Western Massachusetts from 1989–91. After his junior season, he was named a second-team Parade All-American. During his senior season, Best scored a state-record 81 points in a single game. [1] With then-sophomore teammate Edgar Padilla, a future UMass standout, Best led his 25–0 team to the 1991 Division I state championship and a No. 15 ranking in the final USA Today Top 25. After earning Gatorade's Massachusetts and New England Player of the Year honors, Best was selected to play in both the McDonald's All-American Game and McDonald's Capital Classic, earning first-team Parade All-American honors and being the only guard chosen for USA Today's All-USA first team. After considering both UConn and the University of Virginia, Best chose Georgia Tech. [2]

Collegiate career

At Georgia Tech, Best teamed with fellow McDonald's All-American James Forrest for four years. The duo lead the Yellow Jackets to the 1993 ACC tournament championship, their first since 1990. Best was named to the All-ACC third-team as a sophomore, earning second-team honors as a junior and as a senior. Best 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.

Best ranked in the top six in Tech history in points, assists, minutes, 3-point field goals made and steals at the conclusion of his collegiate career. He was one of only three ACC players to score 2,000 points with 600 assists (UNC's Phil Ford and Maryland's Greivis Vasquez are the other two). He earned honorable-mention All-America honors from The Associated Press and was a nominee for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the best player in the nation under 6 feet (1.8 m).

Professional career

Best was drafted 23rd in the 1995 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. [2] He 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.

Best was a vital backup at point guard on the 1999–2000 Indiana 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 the 2001–2002 season, he requested a trade and was granted one to the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls traded Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie to the Pacers for Best, Jalen Rose and Norman Richardson, adding a future second-round pick.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
 * Led the league

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1995–96 Indiana 5919.7.423.320.833.71.6.3.13.7
1996–97 Indiana 764627.2.442.368.7562.24.21.3.19.9
1997–98 Indiana 82*018.9.419.300.8551.53.41.0.16.5
1998–99 Indiana 49021.3.416.373.8431.63.4.9.17.1
1999–00 Indiana 82020.6.483.376.8211.73.3.9.18.9
2000–01 Indiana 772131.9.440.381.8272.96.11.4.111.9
2001–02 Indiana 44321.8.439.382.8771.64.01.3.16.9
2001–02 Chicago 301826.4.441.320.9222.75.01.1.09.3
2002–03 Miami 725225.1.396.330.8542.03.5.6.18.4
2003–04 Dallas 61112.5.372.150.8701.11.8.5.12.8
2004–05 New Jersey 76619.2.420.306.8851.41.9.9.16.8
Career70814821.4.431.345.8351.83.5.9.17.6

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1996 Indiana 5016.8.500.167.8572.21.81.2.05.8
1998 Indiana 16017.5.375.278.8841.01.9.7.26.1
1999 Indiana 11013.6.348.200.9231.51.9.4.14.2
2000 Indiana 23020.1.430.433.8412.52.9.8.28.9
2001 Indiana 4440.8.436.3331.0004.89.31.0.09.8
2005 New Jersey 4020.3.409.111.8891.52.3.3.06.8
Career63419.4.413.303.8752.02.7.7.17.0

Personal life

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.

Best was one of the victims of professional scam artist/fraudster Peggy Ann Fulford (Peggy King, Peggy Williams, Peggy Ann Barard, etc.), losing $1.40 million, amongst the $5.79 million in total she stole from him, Ricky Williams, Dennis Rodman, Rashad McCants, Lex Hilliard and others. [3] Fulford, who was indicted by the FBI in December 2016, continued her criminal activity until sentenced in February 2018 to 10 years in prison and full financial restitution (unlikely) to her victims. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Montville, Leigh (25 March 1991). "Lingering Cheers For A Magic Child". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  2. 1 2 Khona, Chetan (1995-11-10). "Best makes pro debut in front of familiar crowd". The Technique . Retrieved 2007-05-22.
  3. 1 2 Prewitt, Alex (2019-09-19). "The Peggy Show: Every athlete's worst nightmare" . Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
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