Taylor Braun (born July 6, 1991) is an American 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 In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

before playing professionally in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Taiwan. Standing at , he primarily plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

position.

College career

Braun attended

Newberg High School Newberg High School is the only public high school in Newberg, Oregon, United States. History The current campus is Newberg High School's third location. The first campus (1911-36) The original high school, a three-story building that opened in 1 ...

Newberg, Oregon Newberg is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to George Fox University. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,138 making it the second most populous city in the ...

, where he averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game in his senior year. Braun led the Tigers to a 19–8 record and advanced to the state quarterfinals in Class 6A, the state's largest division. He was named Pacific 6 Conference Player of the Year, all-state first team, and finished third in the state Player of the Year voting. Braun played

for

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

, where he averaged 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range in his senior year. Braun ranked fourth in free throws made (454), seventh in points (1,651), eighth in steals (153), ninth in three-pointers (125), and ninth in rebounds (671), becoming the first player in school history to rank among the career top 15 in points, rebounds and assists. In his senior year at North Dakota, Braun was named was named AP Honorable Mention All-American, Summit League Player of the Year and 2014 Summit League tournament MVP.

Professional career

Okapi Aalstar (2014–2015)

After going undrafted in

2014 NBA Draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, Braun joined 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 ...

for the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

. On July 20, 2014, Braun started his professional career with the Belgian team

Okapi Aalstar Okapi Aalst is a Belgian professional basketball club from Aalst, Belgium. The club competes in the top tier BNXT League and plays its home games in the Okapi Forum, which has a seating capacity of 2,800 people. Okapi is a long-time participant o ...

, signing a one-year deal. On November 18, 2014, Braun recorded a career-high 27 points, shooting 11-of-14 from the field, along with six rebounds in a 92–83 win over the

Bakken Bears Bakken Bears is a Denmark, Danish professional basketball club based in Aarhus. The club plays in the Basketligaen, the top tier basketball league in Denmark. Founded in 1953, the club has won the Basketligaen 20 times and holds the record for t ...

. Braun helped Okapi Aalstar to reach the 2015 Belgian League Semifinals, where they eventually lost to

Belfius Mons-Hainaut Belfius Mons-Hainaut is a Belgian professional basketball club that is based in Mons, Wallonia. The club competes in the highest division of the country, the BNXT League. The club's home arena is the Mons Arena. Founded as Quaregnon in 1959, the c ...

ratiopharm Ulm (2015–2017)

On June 30, 2015, Braun joined the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

white team for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA: the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week-long Orlando Pro Summer League a ...

. On July 6, 2015, Braun signed with the German team

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

for the 2015–16 season. On November 21, 2015, Braun recorded a season-high 24 points, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 95–67 win over

BG Göttingen Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen ( eng, Basketball Association Göttingen) is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team had played in Germa ...

. Braun helped Ulm to reach the 2016 BBL Finals, where they eventually lost to

Brose Bamberg Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketba ...

. On June 16, 2016, Braun signed a one-year contract extension with Ulm. Braun helped Ulm to reach the 2017 BBL Semifinals, as well as the 2017 EuroCup Top 16. In 53 games played during the 2016–17 season, Braun averaged 8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Salt Lake City Stars (2017–2018)

On September 26, 2017, Braun was signed by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

of the NBA as a part of their training camp roster. Braun participated in two pre-season games for the Jazz before getting waived on October 7, 2017. On October 23, 2017, Braun joined the

Salt Lake City Stars The Salt Lake City Stars are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. As of the 2022-23 season, the Stars play in the Maverik Center in West Valley City, U ...

, The Utah Jazz G-League affiliate. In 45 games played for the Stars, Braun averaged 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Victoria Libertas Pesaro (2018)

On March 26, 2018, Braun signed with the Italian team

VL Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

for the rest of the season. On April 8, 2018, Braun recorded a season-high 21 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, along with eight rebounds and five steals in an 80–72 win over Flexx Pistoia. He was subsequently named LBA Round 25 MVP.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2018–2019)

On July 16, 2018, Braun signed with the Israeli team

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

for the 2018–19 season. On October 15, 2018, Braun recorded a career-high 8 steals and a season-high 24 points, shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point range, along with seven rebounds, four assists in a 105–73 blowout win over Hapoel Tel Aviv. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 2 MVP. In 28 games played for Be'er Sheva, he led the team in efficiency rating with 17.9 per game, to go with 14.9 points, 6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Braun helped Be'er Sheva reach the 2019 Israeli League Playoffs, where they eventually were eliminated by

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

in the quarterfinals.

Brisbane Bullets (2019–2020)

On July 2, 2019, Braun signed with the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

in Australia for the

2019–20 NBL season The 2019–20 NBL season was the 42nd season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. Teams Nine teams competed in the 2019–20 Season with the addition of South East Melbourne Phoenix. Off-season changes *The ...

. He appeared in all 28 games for the Bullets, averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Second stint with Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2020)

On February 27, 2020, Braun signed with

for the rest of the 2019–20 Israeli League season, returning to the team for a second stint.

Tainan TSG GhostHawks (2022)

On August 11, 2022, Braun signed with the

Tainan TSG GhostHawks The Tainan TSG GhostHawks ( zh, 臺南台鋼獵鷹) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. They have competed in the T1 League since the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at the Chia Nan University of ...

of the

T1 League The T1 League is a Taiwanese men's professional basketball league founded in 2021. It is the third professional basketball league in Taiwan after the Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA) and the P. League+ (PLG). In the 2022–23 season, the T ...

. On December 30,

terminated the contract relationship with Braun due to the knee injury.

National team career

On February 20, 2018, Braun was named a member of the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification. He helped the US to victories over

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Career statistics

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

, 11 , , 9 , , 26.5 , , .480 , , .440 , , .900 , , 3.9 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 8.3 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 12 , , 10 , , 26.8 , , .465 , , .405 , , .667 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 10.4 , , 10.6 , -

References

External links

RealGM profileNorth Dakota State Bison bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Taylor 1991 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oregon Brisbane Bullets players Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C. players Lega Basket Serie A players North Dakota State Bison men's basketball players Okapi Aalstar players People from Newberg, Oregon Kaohsiung Steelers players Tainan TSG GhostHawks players Ratiopharm Ulm players Salt Lake City Stars players Small forwards United States men's national basketball team players Victoria Libertas Pesaro players American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan P. League+ imports