Taylor Braun (born July 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for North Dakota State University before playing professionally in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Israel, and Taiwan. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he primarily plays at the small forward position.
College career
Braun attended Newberg High School in Newberg, Oregon, 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.[1]
Braun played college basketball for North Dakota State University's Bison, 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.[1]
On July 20, 2014, Braun started his professional career with the Belgian team Okapi Aalstar, signing a one-year deal.[3] 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.[4] Braun helped Okapi Aalstar to reach the 2015 Belgian League Semifinals, where they eventually lost to Belfius Mons-Hainaut.
On July 6, 2015, Braun signed with the German team ratiopharm Ulm for the 2015–16 season.[6] 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.[7] Braun helped Ulm to reach the 2016 BBL Finals, where they eventually lost to Brose Bamberg.
On June 16, 2016, Braun signed a one-year contract extension with Ulm.[8] 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 of the NBA as a part of their training camp roster.[9] Braun participated in two pre-season games for the Jazz before getting waived on October 7, 2017.[10] On October 23, 2017, Braun joined the Salt Lake City Stars, The Utah Jazz G-League affiliate.[11] 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 for the rest of the season.[12] 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.[13]
Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2018–2019)
On July 16, 2018, Braun signed with the Israeli team Hapoel Be'er Sheva for the 2018–19 season.[14] 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.[15] 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 in the quarterfinals.
Brisbane Bullets (2019–2020)
On July 2, 2019, Braun signed with the Brisbane Bullets in Australia for the 2019–20 NBL season.[16] He appeared in all 28 games for the Bullets, averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
