Michael Rene Taylor (born January 21, 1986) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played college basketball for

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

and

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

College basketball

Collegiately, Taylor played three seasons for

(NJCAA-FCCAA, 2004–2005 to 2005–2006) and

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

(2006–07), leading the latter team in scoring with 16.0 points per game. However, he was dismissed from the team in July 2007 after a series of brushes with the law.

Professional career

NBA

During 2007–08, he played for the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

, averaging 14.5 points per game in 39 games. Taylor was drafted 55th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, becoming the first player in NBA history to be drafted out of the D-League. Portland acquired the 55th pick, used to select Taylor, from the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

trade via the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. However, he was traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

on draft night in exchange for a future second-round draft pick, and signed with the team on July 15. On March 25, 2009, he scored an NBA career high 35 points at Madison Square Garden versus the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. The

waived Taylor on July 31, 2009.

Europe

Taylor signed a contract until the end of the 2009–2010 season with Serbian

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in B ...

on November 20, 2009. He was brought to serve as a replacement for Maurice Bailey, who was released. Following the injury in the last team's Eurocup game of the season, on March 13, 2012, Taylor and Red Star Belgrade reached an agreement to part ways, mainly due to the financial problems the club was facing. After playing with the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, he signed with the Italian team Tezenis Verona. He averaged 7,3 points and 4 rebounds over 4 games in the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

. In September 2011, he signed a one-year contract with

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

. He averaged 13.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2 assists over 22 games in the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

championship for them. On July 9, 2012, Taylor signed with

Nymburk Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

for one season. Nymburk's head coach was very excited with the new arrival and he said: "Mike is a young, talented player.. an excellent point guard, but can also play shooting guard.. a great defender and a very good athlete." He left Nymburk in January 2013.

Return to America

On January 30, 2013, Taylor was acquired by the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

BAL

In October 2019, Taylor played with

Al-Nasr Benghazi Al-Nasr Sports, Cultural and Social Club () or simply Al-Nasr Benghazi is a Libyan professional football club based in Benghazi. Honours National titles *Libyan Premier League :Winners (2): 1987,2017–18. :Runners-up (4): 1977–78, 1983–84 ...

from Libya in the

2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments The 2020 BAL Qualifying Tournaments were the inaugural qualifying tournaments of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the newly launched premier basketball league of Africa jointly organized by the NBA and FIBA. While the NBA will co-organise from th ...

. In February 2020, Taylor signed with

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east an ...

of Egypt to play in the BAL and the remainder of the 2019–20

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

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References

External links