Penny Taylor

Penelope Jane Taylor was born in Melbourne to English parents Michael Taylor and Denna Noble. She began playing basketball at the age of four with the Belgrave South Red Devils before progressing through the Nunawading Spectres programme. After attending Upwey High School, she received a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Taylor made her Women’s National Basketball League debut with the Australian Institute of Sport during the 1997–98 season. She helped the AIS win the WNBL championship in 1999 before joining the Dandenong Rangers. With Dandenong, Taylor became one of the league’s leading players, winning consecutive WNBL Most Valuable Player awards in 2001 and 2002.

During the 2000–01 season, Taylor led the WNBL with 25.5 points and 2.5 steals per game. Her combination of scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and defensive awareness established her as one of Australia’s most complete young players.

The Cleveland Rockers selected Taylor 11th overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft. After beginning her rookie season in a reserve role, she became a regular starter and earned her first WNBA All-Star selection in 2002. She played three seasons in Cleveland before the franchise ceased operations.

Phoenix selected Taylor first overall in the 2004 dispersal draft. She quickly became a central part of the Mercury alongside Diana Taurasi and later Cappie Pondexter. Taylor’s ability to score efficiently, defend multiple positions, pass, and play without dominating the ball made her an ideal fit within Phoenix’s fast-paced system.

Her strongest individual WNBA season came in 2007, when she averaged 17.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. She earned All-WNBA First Team honours and helped Phoenix defeat the Detroit Shock to win the championship. During the playoffs, she averaged 19.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

Taylor returned from ankle surgery during the 2009 season and helped Phoenix win a second title, contributing important free throws late in the deciding game against the Indiana Fever. She remained one of the league’s most efficient forwards in 2010 and 2011, averaging 15.9 and 16.7 points respectively while also becoming a more prominent playmaker.

A serious anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while playing in Turkey forced Taylor to miss the 2012 WNBA season. Her recovery required multiple operations, and further knee problems limited her return in 2013. She rebuilt her fitness before the 2014 campaign and eventually returned to Phoenix’s starting lineup.

Taylor played an important role in the Mercury’s record-setting 2014 season, when the team finished 29–5 and won its third championship. She retired after the 2016 season, finishing her WNBA career with 4,606 points, 1,559 rebounds, 1,053 assists, and 480 steals in 355 regular-season games. She averaged 13 points, 4.4 rebounds, and three assists while shooting 46.6 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from three-point range, and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Taylor represented Australia across four FIBA Women’s World Championships and three Olympic Games. She won bronze at the 2002 World Championship before helping the Opals reach the Olympic final at Athens 2004, where Australia earned the silver medal.

Her greatest international achievement came at the 2006 FIBA Women’s World Championship in Brazil. Taylor led Australia to its first world title and was named tournament Most Valuable Player, finishing ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson for the award. The victory established Australia as the first country outside the United States and Soviet Union to win the competition since Brazil in 1994.

Taylor won a second Olympic silver medal at Beijing 2008. A knee injury prevented her from competing at the London 2012 Games, but she returned to captain Australia at the 2014 World Championship, where the Opals won bronze and Taylor was selected to the tournament’s All-Star Five.

Her final international tournament was the 2016 Rio Olympics. Across her national-team career, Taylor became known for her leadership, scoring efficiency, versatility, and ability to perform in major games.

Penny Taylor played primarily as a small forward and was known for versatility, efficiency, intelligence, and composure. She could score at the rim, shoot from three-point range, create for teammates, rebound, and defend several positions. Taylor moved effectively without the ball and rarely forced shots, allowing her to complement other high-scoring players. Her balance, footwork, passing, and ability to make timely plays made her an ideal all-around forward and a dependable performer in championship games.

Taylor was previously married to Brazilian volleyball player Rodrigo Rodrigues Gil. In 2017, she married former Phoenix Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi after the pair had been in a relationship for several years.

Taylor and Taurasi have two children, a son named Leo and a daughter named Isla. Taylor stepped away from her coaching role with Phoenix in 2020 to focus on raising their family.

Taylor experienced significant personal loss during the later years of her playing career. Her mother died during her recovery from knee surgery, and her father later died following a battle with cancer. She returned to Australia during the 2014–15 WNBL season partly to remain close to him and her extended family.

Penny Taylor’s legacy is defined by versatility, championship success, and sustained excellence across several continents. She was not always the highest-profile player on her teams, but her ability to fill multiple roles made her indispensable to the Phoenix Mercury and Australian Opals.

She joined Diana Taurasi as the only player to appear on all three of Phoenix’s championship teams. At the time of her retirement, Taylor ranked among the top five in almost every major statistical category in Mercury history, including points, assists, rebounds, steals, three-pointers, and shooting percentage.

Her 2006 World Championship MVP performance remains one of the most important individual achievements in Australian basketball history. By leading the Opals to their first world title, she helped establish the team as a genuine international champion.

Taylor’s influence also rests in her selfless approach. She adapted between starring and supporting roles, returned from major injuries, and contributed through scoring, passing, defence, and leadership. Her Hall of Fame inductions recognise a career that combined elite individual performance with exceptional team success.

Penny Taylor’s Australian club honours include the 1999 WNBL championship with the Australian Institute of Sport, WNBL MVP awards in 2001 and 2002, two WNBL Top Shooter awards, and three selections to the WNBL All-Star Five.

In the WNBA, she won championships with the Phoenix Mercury in 2007, 2009, and 2014. She was selected to three WNBA All-Star Games, earned All-WNBA First Team recognition in 2007 and All-WNBA Second Team recognition in 2011, and had her No. 13 jersey retired by Phoenix in 2017.

Internationally, Taylor won the 2006 FIBA Women’s World Championship and was named tournament MVP. She also earned Olympic silver medals in 2004 and 2008 and World Championship bronze medals in 2002 and 2014.

Her overseas club achievements include championships in Italy, Russia, China, and four consecutive Turkish League titles with Fenerbahçe.

Taylor was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2022, followed by the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2023.

Penny Taylor is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach, widely recognised as one of the most versatile and efficient forwards of her generation. Born on May 24, 1981, in Melbourne, Victoria, she built a 19-year career across Australia, the United States, Europe, China, and international basketball.

Taylor played 13 WNBA seasons with the Cleveland Rockers and Phoenix Mercury, winning championships with Phoenix in 2007, 2009, and 2014. She earned three WNBA All-Star selections and All-WNBA First and Second Team honours while becoming one of the most productive players in Mercury history. With the Australian Opals, Taylor won Olympic silver medals in 2004 and 2008 and led Australia to its first FIBA Women’s World Championship title in 2006, earning tournament MVP. She was later inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Australia Hall of Fame, and FIBA Hall of Fame.