Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was 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 (appro ...

player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

and played seven seasons in the league (from 1998–1999 through 2004–2005). He averaged 4.8 points per game, mainly as a reserve center and forward.

High school and college

Traylor was a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

the same year as

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

and

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Standing and weighing in excess of , he joined a frontcourt for the Wolverines that included

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

and Maceo Baston in 1995. That year, Traylor broke a backboard while dunking in a game against Ball State. Traylor helped lead the Wolverines to the 1997

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

title, and was named the tournament's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. His junior year was his best, as he averaged 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds while leading his team to the inaugural Big Ten tournament championship and second round of the NCAA tournament as a three seed. Traylor was one of four Michigan players whose ties to booster Ed Martin roiled the program. During his freshman year, Traylor broke his arm in a car accident while out with teammates and recruiting prospect Mateen Cleaves who eventually went to rival

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, won the

2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in Single-elimination tournament, single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 20 ...

and was named the Most Outstanding Player. That accident triggered a six-year investigation into the Wolverine program. Martin pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to

launder money Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds in ...

and told federal prosecutors he took gambling money, combined it with other funds and gave Traylor,

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973), nicknamed "C-Webb", is an American former professional basketball player. Webber played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), with the largest portion of his career sp ...

and two other Wolverine players a $616,000 loan. Traylor received three years' probation for tax fraud. Due to NCAA violations connected to the case (principally the compromising of the amateur status of Traylor, Webber and Taylor), Michigan withdrew from consideration for the 2003 NCAA tournament, lost scholarships and was placed on probation. The school also vacated the records of every game in which Traylor played from its record book. Traylor also had to surrender his MVP award for the 1997 NIT, as well as his MVP award from the 1998 Big Ten tournament. Murray-Wright High School in Detroit, where Traylor played high school basketball, voluntarily forfeited its entire 1994–95 season (Traylor's senior season).

NBA career

In the

, Traylor was drafted by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in the first round (with the sixth pick), then traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for Pat Garrity and German prospect

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...

. Landon Buford of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' ranked this trade as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history, while Dave Zirin of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' ranked it the most lopsided trade in NBA history. Nowitzki "would go on to have a distinguished 21-year career where he was an All-Star 14 times, a member of the All-NBA team 12 times, a league and Finals MVP, and an NBA champion in 2011", while Traylor struggled in the NBA. (In addition, Garrity was traded to Phoenix by the Mavericks for future Hall of Famer

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

). In the 2005 offseason, Traylor had surgery on his aorta. He then signed on with the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

for the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two, to win their first NBA championship. This marked that it was the final ...

, but—due to his failing a physical examination—the deal was scrapped. Traylor battled weight problems throughout his career. During seven NBA seasons, Traylor played for the Bucks, the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

and the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

International career

Traylor played in Turkey for Antalya Kepez Belediyesi, in Italy with the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

club NSB Napoli, in Mexico for Halcones UV Xalapa, and in Puerto Rico with the Cangrejeros de Santurce and

Vaqueros de Bayamón The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

. Traylor was selected as 2010 Defensive Player of the Year of

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

. Traylor's last game was played on April 26, 2011.

Career statistics

College

, - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 22 , , 4 , , 19.9 , , .554 , , .000 , , .548 , , 5.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 35 , , 27.3 , , .556 , , .000 , , .455 , , 7.7 , , 0.9 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , 13.1 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 34 , , 32.1 , , .579 , , .000 , , .642 , , 10.1 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.4 , , 16.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 91 , , 73 , , 27.3 , , .566 , , .000 , , .545 , , 8.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 13.3

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 49 , , 43 , , 16.0 , , .537 , , .000 , , .538 , , 3.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.9 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 44 , , 16 , , 10.2 , , .475 , , .000 , , .603 , , 2.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 70 , , 7 , , 17.3 , , .497 , , .000 , , .567 , , 4.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 5.7 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" , Charlotte , 61 , , 1 , , 11.1 , , .426 , , 1.000 , , .631 , , 3.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 69 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .443 , , .333 , , .648 , , 3.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

, 71 , , 0 , , 13.3 , , .505 , , .400 , , .547 , , 3.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 74 , , 6 , , 17.9 , , .444 , , .000 , , .539 , , 4.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 5.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 438 , , 73 , , 14.3 , , .474 , , .167 , , .577 , , 3.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 4.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 1 , , 15.0 , , .778 , , .000 , , .500 , , 4.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" , Charlotte , 8 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .350 , , .000 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 15.7 , , .455 , , .000 , , .250 , , 5.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.8 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .444 , , .000 , , .667 , , 2.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 1 , , 11.1 , , .459 , , .000 , , .529 , , 3.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 3.0

Personal life and death

In 2007, Traylor pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to three years' probation. On May 11, 2011, Traylor had been talking to his wife Raye on the phone; the connection was suddenly lost, so she alerted team officials to investigate. Traylor was found dead at his apartment in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, of an apparent massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. He was survived by Raye and his two sons at the time of his death. Former coach Paul Silas commented on Traylor's death, saying, "It's just a shock and hard to believe."

References

Further information

*Enlund, Tom.
Lighter Traylor still big on talent
" ''

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

''. Thursday June 25, 1998. 3C.

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

193 of 205.
Michigan's Traylor is turning professional
" ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

''. March 28, 1998. Page 13.

External links

* * *
NBA Draft busts #16
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traylor, Robert 1977 births 2011 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American people convicted of tax crimes Basketball players from Detroit Cangrejeros de Santurce basketball players Charlotte Hornets players Ciudad de Vigo Básquet players Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks draft picks Halcones de Xalapa players Kepez Belediyesi S.K. players McDonald's High School All-Americans Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players New Orleans Hornets players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards Murray–Wright High School alumni 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Vaqueros de Bayamón basketball players