Tyshawn Taylor

Tyshawn Taylor
Born	(1990-04-12) April 12, 1990 Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player (former)
Years active	2008–2021
Known for	Basketball career at University of Kansas and professional career including Brooklyn Nets

Tyshawn Jamar Taylor (born April 12, 1990) is a former professional basketball player from the United States. He competed at the collegiate level for the University of Kansas before being picked 41st overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

High school career

Taylor attended St. Anthony High School in New Jersey, where he played under the guidance of legendary coach Bob Hurley. During the 2007–08 season, his team achieved an undefeated 32–0 record and was recognized by USA Today as the mythical national champion in high school basketball. Additionally, Taylor featured in the 2009 documentary The Street Stops Here, which focused on Hurley and the St. Anthony program.

Ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Taylor was positioned as the No. 11 point guard and held the No. 77 spot nationally in the class of 2008.

College career

In his freshman year (2008–09), Taylor posted averages of 9.7 points and 3.0 assists per contest, earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Rookie team.

Before his sophomore season, he switched his jersey number from 15 to 10 and contributed averages of 7.2 points and 3.4 assists for the 2009–10 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team, which secured both the Big 12 regular season championship and tournament titles.

During his junior year, Taylor led the team with an average of 4.6 assists per game while scoring 9.3 points, ranking fourth in assists across the Big 12 conference. On February 21, 2011, he was suspended indefinitely due to unspecified violations of team rules.

In his senior season, starting for the fourth consecutive year, Taylor nearly doubled his scoring output. Partnering with All-American teammate Thomas Robinson, he played a key role in guiding Kansas to the national championship game in 2012, where they were defeated by Kentucky.

College statistics

|- |style="text-align:left;"|2008–09 |style="text-align:left;"|Kansas |35||33||26.5||.506||.364||.724||2.2||3.0||1.1||.2||9.7 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2009–10 |style="text-align:left;"|Kansas |36||25||23.1||.438||.339||.716||2.4||3.4||1.3||.2||7.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2010–11 |style="text-align:left;"|Kansas |36||31||27.1||.479||.380||.719||1.9||4.6||1.0||.3|||9.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2011–12 |style="text-align:left;"|Kansas |39||38||33.4||.477||.382||.688||2.3||4.8||1.3||.2||16.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| |146||127||27.7||.477||.370||.708||2.2||3.9||1.2||.2||10.8

Brooklyn Nets (2012–2014)

Taylor was chosen with the 41st pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers on June 28, 2012, but was promptly traded to the Brooklyn Nets for cash considerations; he officially signed with Brooklyn on July 6.

When starter Deron Williams was sidelined for two games before the All-Star break due to ankle problems, Taylor earned minutes in the Nets' rotation and recorded a personal best of 12 points over 34 minutes during an overtime victory against the Indiana Pacers.

On November 25, during a defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, coach Jason Kidd directed Taylor to intentionally collide with him to force a timeout—a tactic that sparked criticism toward Kidd's coaching methods.

Throughout his first two seasons, Taylor had several stints assigned to the Springfield Armor in the NBA D-League.

Maine Red Claws (2014)

On January 21, 2014, Taylor was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for cash considerations and the rights to Edin Bavčić. He was released two days later without appearing in any games. Subsequently, on January 30, 2014, Taylor signed with the Maine Red Claws.

Atléticos de San Germán (2014)

Taylor inked a deal with Puerto Rico's BSN team Atléticos de San Germán on February 21, 2014. After participating in 17 contests, he left the squad on May 23.

Dynamo Moscow (2014–2015)

On September 17, 2014, Taylor committed to Russian outfit Dynamo Moscow for the 2014–15 campaign. During his tenure, he averaged 9.7 points across seven appearances before being released on January 13, 2015.

Indios de Mayagüez (2015)

Taylor joined Indios de Mayagüez for the BSN season on February 6, 2015.

Guaros de Lara (2016)

On January 28, 2016, Taylor became part of Venezuelan club Guaros de Lara for the 2016 season of the LPB.

Maccabi Kiryat Gat (2016–2017)

Taylor signed a one-year contract with Israeli Premier League team Maccabi Kiryat Gat on August 8, 2016. His stint ended when he was waived on January 10, 2017.

Ankara (2017)

On January 23, 2017, Taylor signed with Ankara DSİ, competing in the Turkish Basketball First League.

Samsun (2018)

Taylor joined Samsun BSB Anakent of the Turkish Basketball First League on February 1, 2018.

Auxilium Torino (2018–2020)

On August 31, 2018, Taylor entered into an agreement with Italian basketball club Auxilium Torino.

Saigon Heat (2020)

Taylor signed with the Saigon Heat of the ABL on January 22, 2020.

Retirement

Taylor publicly announced his retirement from professional basketball on October 25, 2021.

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

During the summer of 2017, Taylor participated in The Basketball Tournament, marking his third consecutive year competing in this ESPN-broadcast event. He represented Team FOE, a Philadelphia-based team coached by NBA players Markieff and Marcus Morris. Across four games, Taylor averaged 12.8 points, four rebounds, and two assists as Team FOE advanced to the Super 16 round held in Brooklyn, New York. Their run concluded with a narrow 72–67 defeat to Boeheim's Army, a squad composed of Syracuse alumni. Previously, Taylor also took part in TBT during the years 2015 and 2016—averaging 17 points and 3.7 rebounds over three games for Team FOE in the latter year and competing with the Jabroni Project in 2015.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 38 || 0 || 5.8 || .368 || .462 || .556 || .5 || .6 || .3 || .0 || 2.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 23 || 3 || 11.7 || .341 || .250 || .800 || .7 || 1.6 || .5 || .0 || 3.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 61 || 3 || 8.0 || .354 || .360 || .684 || .5 || .9 || .4 || .0 || 2.9

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2013 | style="text-align:left;"| Brooklyn | 2 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 2 || 0 || 1.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

International Experience

During the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, Taylor played for USA Basketball, leading the squad with averages of 10.8 points and 4.4 assists per contest. His contribution of 18 points and 6 assists in the championship match versus Greece was instrumental in securing the title for the United States. Taylor earned a spot on the tournament’s All-Star lineup alongside teammate Gordon Hayward.