Penelope Jane Taylor (born 24 May 1981) is an Australian former professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

of the WNBA, where she won three championships. She also won the WNBL title with her first club, the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

, and played in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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 ou ...

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 Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian former professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketb ...

Early life

Penny Taylor was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

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

Nunawading Nunawading () is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km (11 miles) east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse and City of Manningham local government areas. Nunawading recorded ...

Spectres. She attended Upwey High School in

Upwey, Victoria Upwey is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges Local government areas of Victoria, local ...

, and after graduating earned a scholarship to the

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. Taylor holds a UK passport due to her parents' origin.

WNBL career

Taylor debuted in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

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 Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

, 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 a professional women's basketba ...

, 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 ...

in the first round (11th overall) during the annual

WNBA draft The WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

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 an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

, where the league's existing teams selected former players from the Rockers team. Taylor was selected as the first overall pick by the

. 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 Diana Lorena Taurasi (born June 11, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for 20 seasons, spending her entire career with the Phoenix Mercury. Taurasi is widely ...

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 in five games, with Taylor making two clutch free throws down the stretch to help clinch the decisive game 94–86. In 2012, Taylor suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

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 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and ...

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 The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

health staff to make sure her return to basketball worked. Under new coach and former Australia teammate

Sandy Brondello Sandra Anne Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Australian women's nation ...

, Taylor saw limited minutes during the first eleven games of the

2014 WNBA season The 2014 WNBA season was the 18th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season started in May and concluded in September to accommodate the 2014 Women's World Championship. Notable occurrences * The New York Liberty return ...

. 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 of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. Th ...

. 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 The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

. She wound up out of the Opals for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

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 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, 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 (), often abbreviated as the 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). ...

, 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. After dating for eight years, on 13 May 2017, she married fellow Phoenix Mercury star

. On 1 March 2018, the couple welcomed their first child when Taylor gave birth to their son Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor. Taylor expected to give birth to the couple's second child on October 6, 2021, but the pregnancy lasted beyond the due date. After a Game 4 loss in the semifinals, Taurasi played in a winner-take-all Game 5 that would decide whether the Phoenix Mercury would play in the 2021 WNBA finals. After a Game 5 win on October 8, 2021, Taurasi had a message for Taylor in her post-game interview, closing with "Hold it in babe, I'm coming." Taurasi then flew from Las Vegas, where the game took place, back to Phoenix, arriving in time to witness Taylor give birth to their daughter—Isla Taurasi-Taylor—on October 9, 2021, at 4:24 am; 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 of the Western Conference. The team plays its home game ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

for game five of the 2021 WNBA Semifinals.

WNBA career statistics

WNBA regular season

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2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

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

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 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 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

^† , align="left" , Phoenix , 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 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

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

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 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

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

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, 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;",

^† , align="left" , Phoenix , 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;",

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

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

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

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

, align="left" , Phoenix , 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 Australian lesbian sportswomen Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Melbourne Cleveland Rockers players Dandenong Rangers players Fenerbahçe women's basketball players LGBTQ basketball players LGBTQ people from Victoria (state) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Phoenix Mercury players Shanxi Flame players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportswomen from Victoria (state) WNBA All-Stars 21st-century Australian sportswomen

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