Penelope Jane Taylor (born 24 May 1981) is an Australian retired professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she won three championships. She also won the WNBL title with her first club, the Australian Institute of Sport, and played in China,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. As part of the Australian woman's national team, Taylor won two

Olympic medals An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

and led the Australian Opals to a gold medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, winning tournament MVP honours ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson.

Early life

Penny Taylor was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

parents Michael Taylor and Denna Noble. She has a younger brother named Phillip, step-sister Abbey and an older sister named Heather. Her parents enrolled Taylor in the

Belgrave South Belgrave South is an area and a suburb of Greater Melbourne mainly beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 37 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local g ...

Red Devils basketball club at the age of 4. The camaraderie helped Taylor overcome her shyness, and eventually move to the

Nunawading Nunawading is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 miles) east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse, Whitehorse Local g ...

Spectres. She attended Upwey High School in

Upwey, Victoria Upwey is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Knox and the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government areas. Upwey recorded a population of 6,818 at the . Upwey ...

, and after graduating earned a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Taylor holds a UK passport due to her parents' origin.

WNBL career

Taylor debuted in the Women's National Basketball League playing for the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) starting in 1997–98, winning the WNBL title the following season. Afterwards she moved to

Dandenong Rangers The Dandenong Rangers were an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in Dandenong, Melbourne, Victoria. The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers, howeve ...

, where she remained from 1999 to 2002. Taylor led the league in scoring with 25.5 points per game and steals with 2.5 steals per game during the 2000–01 season, being named the WNBL MVP in that season and the next. After 12 years away from the Australian league, Taylor signed with the Rangers for the 2014–15 WNBL season. Her main intention for the return was to stay close to her family, playing in front of her nephews while also tending for her cancer-ridden father. She scored 20.2 points a game from 17 matches in qualifying the Rangers for the playoffs. During the semifinals against the

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional wo ...

, the Rangers were 15 points ahead when Taylor injured her ankle with eight minutes remaining, and her absence was enough for Sydney to take over and win the game.

WNBA career

Taylor was selected by the

Cleveland Rockers The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. The owner was Gordon Gu ...

in the first round (11th overall) during the annual WNBA Draft on 20 April 2001. She starred for the Rockers for three seasons. In January 2004, the WNBA held a

dispersal draft A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America. ...

, where the league's existing teams selected former players from the Rockers team. Taylor was selected as the first overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury. In July 2007 she was chosen as a reserve for the WNBA All Star game. On 16 September 2007, Penny Taylor along with Diana Taurasi and

Cappie Pondexter Cappie Marie Pondexter (born January 7, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and midrange ju ...

led the Phoenix Mercury to the WNBA championship defeating the Detroit Shock in the final game 5 of the finals, 108 – 92, they became the first team to end out a finals series at an away venue in the WNBA. Taylor sat out most of the 2009 season after having ankle surgery that required nine weeks of recovery, but returned to the Mercury mid-season and averaged 10.7 points off the bench. The Mercury went on to win the WNBA Championship that year, beating the Indiana Fever 3 games to 2, with Taylor making 2 clutch free throws down the stretch to help clinch the decisive game 94–86. In 2012, Taylor suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury of her left knee playing in Turkey during the WNBA offseason, and was forced to sit out of the Mercury's season. Her year-long recovery in Australia had Taylor going through three knee operations, including one to remove floating cartilage revealed in a magnetic resonance imaging exam, and seeing her mother die of cancer. Taylor's return to the Mercury in 2013 eventually had her other knee give in after six games, leading her to further surgery. Mercury_timeout_2016-09-28

Taylor spent the 2014 pre-season working with both the Mercury and the Phoenix Suns health staff to make sure her return to basketball worked. Under new coach and former Australia teammate

Sandy Brondello Sandra Anne "Sandy" Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coa ...

, Taylor saw limited minutes during the first eleven games of the 2014 WNBA season. Once Brondello saw her recovered enough, Taylor returned as a Mercury starter, and the team would then go on to win the following 16 games, the longest win streak in WNBA history and not lose again at home for the remainder of the 2014 season. Taylor's return helped lead the team to the best result in the Western Conference with an average of 10.5 points a game for 33 games, as well as the best record in league history with 29 wins and 5 losses, only one of whom had Taylor as a starter. The Mercury returned to the WNBA Finals, winning the title against the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2 ...

. An unsigned free agent in 2015, she decided to sit out the 2015 season for personal reasons after the loss of her father. The Mercury re-signed her on 8 February 2016, and Taylor was present right at the first game to start her thirteenth season at the WNBA. Prior to the August break for the Olympics, Taylor announced she would retire at the end of the season. Her last career game happened on 2 October in Phoenix, as the Mercury were swept by the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semifinals.

International basketball

2006_World_Championship_for_Women_Australia

Taylor has been a regular member of the Australian national team, the 'Opals', since 2002, when won a bronze medal in the 2002 World Championship. Her biggest accomplishment was winning the 2006 World Championship in Brazil, where Taylor was named Most Valuable Player of the championship. They won silver medals in consecutive Olympiads: Athens 2004 and

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. She wound up out of the Opals for the 2012 Summer Olympics after injuring herself playing in Turkey for Fenerbahçe. Taylor was named Australian Opals captain for the 2014 World Championship, helping the team win the bronze medal, and was named to the All-Star Five. Her last tournament with the Opals was at

Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

, where Australia fell in the quarterfinals. During the WNBA offseason, Taylor has played in Italy, Russia and Turkey, winning each league at least once. The 2015-16 offseason had Taylor in the Shanxi Flame of the

Women's Chinese Basketball Association The Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) is the first-tier professional women's basketball league in China. It was established in 2002 as the women's counterpart to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Current clubs There are cu ...

, averaging 23.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Coaching career

In March 2017, Taylor became the Director of Player Development and Performance for her former WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury. After giving birth to a son in March 2018, Taylor took a year off from coaching. In April 2019, the Mercury announced that Taylor had been hired as an assistant coach. As of September 2019, Taylor's spouse, Diana Taurasi, is a player for the Phoenix Mercury. It was announced on 6 July 2020 that Taylor would step down as assistant coach of the Mercury to focus on being a full-time mother.

Personal life

Taylor was married in 2005 to Brazilian volleyball player Rodrigo Rodrigues Gil, but they later divorced. On 13 May 2017, she married fellow Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi. On 1 March 2018, the couple welcomed their first child when Taylor gave birth to their son Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor. On 26 July 2021, it was announced Taylor was pregnant with their second child, due in October. On 9 October 2021, Taylor gave birth to their first daughter, Isla Taurasi-Taylor, with Taurasi by her side mere hours after Taurasi played the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for game five of the 2021 WNBA Semifinals.

WNBA career statistics

WNBA regular season

, - , align="left" , 2001 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 32 , , 0 , , 17.5 , , .382 , , .301 , , .783 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 2002 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 26 , , 30.3 , , .416 , , .342 , , .853 , , 5.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 1.9 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , 2003 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 33 , , 26.4 , , .421 , , .343 , , .821 , , 4.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 1.7 , , 11.7 , - , align="left" , 2004 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 33 , , 33 , , 32.6 , , .484 , , .427 , , .861 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 2.4 , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , 2005 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 29.4 , , .464 , , .404 , , .864 , , 4.1 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.6 , , 13.2 , - , align="left" , 2006 , align="left" ,

, 20 , , 8 , , 26.8 , , .445 , , .369 , , .864 , , 5.7 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 1.4 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2007^† , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 29.7 , , .499 , , .378 , , .884 , , 6.3 , , 2.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 2.2 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2009^† , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 1 , , 20.2 , , .463 , , .400 , , .896 , , 2.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.2 , , 10.9 , - , align="left" , 2010 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32, , 30.0 , , .509 , , .442 , , .893 , , 4.4 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 15.9 , - , align="left" , 2011 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 29.8 , , .511 , , .402 , , .874 , , 4.9 , , 4.7 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 2.2 , , 16.7 , - , align="left" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 3 , , 16.1 , , .472 , , .421 , , .963 , , 2.1 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 0.6 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

^† , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 24 , , 23.4 , , .479 , , .357 , , .848 , , 3.1 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 1.7 , , 10.5 , - , align="left" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, align="left" ,

, 25 , , 25 , , 25.7 , , .488 , , .396 , , .907 , , 3.8 , , 3.6 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 1.6 , , 12.5 , -style="background:#87CEEB" , align="left" , Career , , 355 , , 277 , , 26.8 , , .466 , , .382 , , .868 , , 4.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 2.0 , , 13.0

WNBA Postseason

, - , align="left" , 2001 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 19.7 , , .320 , , .182 , , .750 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.6 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , 2003 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 33.0 , , .444 , , .300 , , .833 , , 4.3 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.3 , , 2.0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2007^† , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 34.6 , , .464 , , .400 , , .912 , , 7.9 , , 3.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 2.7 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2009^† , align="left" ,

, 11 , , 0 , , 24.1 , , .527 , , .484 , , .863 , , 3.5 , , 3.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 1.0 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , 2010 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 4 , , 31.8 , , .474 , , .556 , , .882 , , 4.8 , , 6.8 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 2.2 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 2011 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 30.8 , , .478 , , .308 , , .833 , , 5.2 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 1.8 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 2 , , 20.0 , , .500 , , .333 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

^† , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 27.7 , , .492 , , .263 , , .903 , , 5.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 1.1 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 26.1 , , .368 , , .313 , , .958 , , 4.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 1.8 , , 11.2 , -style="background:#87CEEB" , align="left" , Career , , 50 , , 36 , , 28.1 , , .466 , , .364 , , .887 , , 4.9 , , 3.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 1.7 , , 13.4

References

External links

WNBA Player Profilefenerbahce.org Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Penny 1981 births Living people Australian expatriate basketball people in China Australian expatriate basketball people in Italy Australian expatriate basketball people in Russia Australian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Australian people of English descent Australian women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cleveland Rockers players Dandenong Rangers players Fenerbahçe women's basketball players Lesbian sportswomen LGBT basketball players LGBT sportspeople from Australia Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players of Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Phoenix Mercury players Shanxi Flame players Basketball players from Melbourne Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars Forwards (basketball) Sportswomen from Victoria (Australia)

Early life

WNBL career

WNBA career

International basketball

Coaching career

Personal life

WNBA career statistics

WNBA regular season

WNBA Postseason

See also

References

External links