Jeffery Taylor

Jeffery Matthew Taylor (born May 23, 1989)[1] is a Swedish-American professional basketball player who currently plays for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for Vanderbilt University, before being drafted 31st overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2012 NBA draft.

For other people with similar names, see Jeffrey Taylor (disambiguation).

Jeffery Taylor
Taylor with Real Madrid in November 2017.
No. 44 – Real Madrid
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1989-05-23) May 23, 1989
Norrköping, Sweden
NationalitySwedish / American
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolHobbs (Hobbs, New Mexico)
CollegeVanderbilt (2008–2012)
NBA draft2012 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31st overall
Selected by the Charlotte Bobcats
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2015Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets
2014–2015→Austin Spurs
2015–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Taylor was listed as the No. 10 small forward and the No. 52 player in the nation in 2008.[2]

College career

After Taylor's freshman season of 2008–09, DraftExpress.com said, "One of the most pleasant surprises in last season’s mediocre SEC [Southeastern Conference] was the emergence of Vanderbilt freshman Jeff Taylor."[3] He averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds[4] on his way to SEC All-Freshman honors.[5] However, he showed one weakness in an otherwise solid season by shooting only 22 percent from three-point range.[6]

His sophomore season saw some progress, but also some cause for concern; one scout said near the end of the season, "while he is improved in many areas, he has regressed in some as well."[7] Taylor improved his scoring average to 13.3 per game, but his rebounding dropped slightly to 5.2 per game.[4] The most obvious issue was his perimeter shooting, which saw a decline; he attempted only 11 three-pointers and made only one.[6] Nonetheless, he was named to the All-SEC second team by the league's coaches, and was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.[8]

In 2010–11, he further established his reputation as a defensive stopper, frequently being called on to defend every position on the floor except center[9] while again being named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.[10] Taylor also improved his three-point shooting to a more respectable 34.5%[11] while attempting more than twice as many shots from behind the arc as in his first two seasons combined.[4] Averaging 14.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, he was again named second-team All-SEC.[10]

Taylor was widely viewed as a potential early entry into the 2011 NBA draft, based mainly on his athleticism and defensive skills.[6][12] However, he decided to stay at Vanderbilt for his senior season in 2011–12. His decision to return, along with those of fellow stars John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli, made the Commodores a likely preseason top-10 pick.[13][14][15]

Professional career

Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets (2012–2015)

Taylor was selected with 31st overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. On July 13, 2012, he signed his first professional contract with the Bobcats.[16]

On November 23, 2012, Taylor scored a career high 16 points in a 91–101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.[17]

On December 21, 2013, it was announced that Taylor would miss the remainder of the season with a torn right Achilles tendon.[18] He had been averaging 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game.[19]

After serving out his 24-game suspension by the NBA that was handed down to him in September 2014, Taylor was set to return to action with a stint in the NBA Development League with the Hornets' affiliate team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. However, with the maximum allowance of four NBA players already being on assignment to the Mad Ants, the flexible assignment rule was used on December 28, 2014 so the Hornets could assign Taylor to the Austin Spurs, the San Antonio Spurs' one-to-one D-League affiliate.[20] He was recalled by the Hornets on January 9, 2015.[21]

On June 30, 2015, the Hornets decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Taylor, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.[22]

Real Madrid (2015–present)

On August 27, 2015, Taylor signed a one-year deal with the Spanish team Real Madrid.[23]

In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the final game with 85–80.[24] Over 34 EuroLeague games, Taylor averaged 5.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

† Denotes season in which Taylor's team won the EuroLeague

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Vanderbilt 313126.0.502.220.6916.21.7.9.412.2
2009–10 Vanderbilt 333326.8.493.091.7465.21.71.1.413.3
2010–11 Vanderbilt 343331.7.449.345.7195.52.41.0.614.7
2011–12 Vanderbilt 363632.1.493.423.6055.61.71.3.416.1

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Charlotte 772919.6.431.344.7281.9.8.6.26.1
2013–14 Charlotte 26824.2.376.269.5532.3.8.5.28.0
2014–15 Charlotte 291314.8.395.306.6341.8.8.4.24.4
Career 1325019.4.409.319.6652.0.8.5.26.1

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–16 Real Madrid 25315.2.473.323.6112.1.5.2.14.32.6
2016–17 Real Madrid 302215.5.500.392.6671.8.5.4.14.63.6
2017–18† Real Madrid 342320.6.419.352.7001.91.2.5.15.94.7
2018–19 Real Madrid 342218.2.534.448.6301.61.4.3.15.64.9
Career 1237017.6.477.386.6671.91.0.4.15.24.1

International career

Taylor participated in the 2013 edition of the EuroBasket. It was his first official appearance with the Swedish senior squad. He was Sweden's top scorer, averaging 21.2 points per game, along with 4.6 rebounds per game.[25]

Personal life

Taylor is the second-oldest[1] of the six children of Jeff Taylor, who briefly played in the NBA before playing in Sweden, where he lived until his death.[26] While the younger Taylor is a citizen of both Sweden and the United States by birth, he played for Norrköping Dolphins youth team, and has lived in the U.S. since 2006, he has said, "...if someone asks where I'm from, I say Sweden." However, he grew up steeped in the basketball culture of Hobbs, New Mexico, where his father was a high school star in the late 1970s:

I just always wanted to be a Hobbs High School Eagle. It’s kind of a thing I always grew up with. I heard stories about their crowds and stuff like that.[26]

Taylor left Sweden for Hobbs in 2006, at the age of 17, moving in with his grandmother. Besides his desire to play at his father's alma mater, he determined that playing high school basketball in America would enhance his college basketball prospects.[26] He quickly drew major interest from NCAA Division I programs, especially after a senior season when he averaged more than 30 points while leading Hobbs to a state title.[26][27]

Taylor, named one of the top 150 recruits in the country by ESPN, considered about a half-dozen schools before narrowing his choices to Vanderbilt and Texas, eventually choosing Vanderbilt. He was one of three top-150 recruits signed by Commodores head coach Kevin Stallings in 2008.[26]

Assault

On September 25, 2014, Taylor was arrested at a hotel in East Lansing, Michigan, charged with one count of domestic assault, assault, and malicious destruction of property.[28][29] He was later suspended by the NBA for 24 games without pay after he pleaded guilty to the charges.[30] He also received a one-year suspension from the Swedish national team.[31]

References
  1. "Jeffery Taylor Bio". VUCommodores.com. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  2. Jeffrey Taylor Recruiting Profile
  3. Givony, Jonathan; Nelson, Kyle (September 18, 2009). "Top NBA Draft Prospects in the SEC (Part One: #1-5)". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  4. "Jeffery Taylor Profile". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  5. "Ogilvy, Taylor Named All-SEC" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Athletics. March 10, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  6. Brennan, Eamonn (June 28, 2011). "Letters From Camp: Jeffery Taylor from 3?". College Basketball Nation Blog. ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  7. Nelson, Kyle (March 18, 2010). "NCAA Weekly Performers, 3/18/10". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  8. "Coaches' All-SEC Team Commodore-laden" (Press release). Vanderbilt University Athletics. March 9, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  9. Givony, Jonathan (March 18, 2011). "Trending Prospects (3/18/2011)". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  10. "2011 SEC Men's Hoops Awards Announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 8, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  11. Brennan, Eamonn (August 9, 2011). "Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt Commodores". College Basketball Nation Blog. ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  12. "NBA Prospect Profile: Jeff Taylor". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  13. Bergeron, Elena (August 9, 2011). "CBB Summer Buzz: Vanderbilt". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011. (full article behind paywall; cited information in free preview)
  14. Katz, Andy (August 9, 2011). "Festus Ezeli continues to learn the game". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  15. Vitale, Dick (July 26, 2011). "Dickie V Preseason Top 40: Top 10". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  16. Jeffery Taylor Player Profile – RealGM
  17. "Notebook: Hawks 101, Bobcats 91". Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  18. Jeffery Taylor Injury Update Archived January 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  19. Jeff Taylor NBA & ABA Stats
  20. Hornets Assign Jeffery Taylor To Austin Spurs of NBA D-League
  21. Hornets Recall Jeffery Taylor From Austin Spurs
  22. Charlotte Hornets will not give Jeffery Taylor a qualifying offer, will become an unrestricted free agent
  23. "Official Announcement: Jeffery Taylor". realmadrid.com. December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  24. "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  25. Player profile EuroBasket 2013
  26. "New hoops recruit ready to get started at Vandy". Nashville City Paper. April 22, 2008. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  27. "Jag vill ha mer respekt" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  28. "Jeff Taylor arrested for assault". ESPN. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  29. "Hornets Small Forward Jeff Taylor Charged With Domestic Assault". Deadspin. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  30. Jeff Taylor suspended 24 games
  31. https://www.thelocal.se/20141120/sweden-suspend-nba-star-over-assault-charge
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