New NBA Designed Basketball Court at La Salle Academy To Honor Coach Dan Buckley

The Lower East Side prep school will hold a court dedication ceremony to tip-off their 2025-26 season that reflects the lasting mark left by the late-great New York City basketball coach

Featuring a New York City skyline and La Salle Cardinal branding, the new basketball court design was created by Christopher Arena (Senior VP & Head of On-Court & Brand Partnerships at the NBA). / Christian Agredo

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. 

The ancient quote from Pericles holds true when it comes to life and legacy. It also applies to the hardwood, a sacred ground of 84-feet and 50-feet where the late Coach Dan Buckley led La Salle Academy to four New York City championships during his 22 years at the 177-year-old all-boys Catholic prep school on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. 

New Court Brings Back Old Memories

He guided the Cardinals to 462 victories. He also captured a Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) championship as a player himself in 1943 for La Salle, before going on to play college basketball at St. John’s and Duke where the guard served as team captain. A member of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, NYC Basketball Hall of Fame, and New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in March, the legendary coach (Buckley also coached at Merchant Marine Academy for 11 years) who passed away in January 2004 at 78-years-old will receive one more deserved achievement to honor his impact and influence.

Complete with school colors and a polished shine to start the 2025-26 high school basketball season at La Salle Academy. / Christian Agredo

NBA Design Has Cardinals Ahead Of The Game

Prior to the Cardinals hosting their 2025-26 season opener on Monday, December 1 against Monsignor McClancy High School, La Salle Academy will unveil its new NBA designed gym floor with the dedication of the Dan Buckley Memorial Gym.

The design featuring a New York City skyline and La Salle Cardinals branding was created by Christopher Arena, Senior VP & Head of On-Court & Brand Partnerships at the NBA, and supported through a generous donation by La Salle alum Salvatore LaRocca, President of Global Partnerships at the NBA and La Salle Board Chair). 

“For nearly over 175 years, La Salle Academy has been educating young men throughout New York,” said Salvatore LaRocca.

“At the core of La Salle are exceptional and committed student-athletes that excel in the classroom, on the court and in the community, and no one embodies that spirit more than La Salle’s own Coach Dan Buckley.”

Gone but not forgotten, Coach Dan Buckley's tenure coaching basketball in New York City for 33 years made him a beloved icon. / Facebook

A Fitting Tribute For Coach Buckley

The school founded in 1848 has turned out eight student-athletes who went on to play in the NBA including Metta Sandiford-Artes, Dick McGuire, God Shammgod, James Bouknight, John Roche, Tom Owens, Ed Bartels, and Bill Kenville. Now the next time La Salle Academy sends another player to the league, they can proudly boast that the journey started on the court simply known as the home that Dan Buckley built.