2023 Class of FIBA Hall of Fame: Penny Taylor

 

MIES (Switzerland) - Former FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup winner and MVP Penny Taylor is being inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame in honor of her accomplishments with the Opals and in club basketball. 

A forward with a sky-high basketball IQ and elite skill set, Taylor was the ultimate competitor who rose to the big occasion and led her country and club teams with real class.

She was the driving force behind the Opals' greatest moment when her scoring power and deadly ability to deliver down the stretch of big games proved the difference maker at the 2006 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Taylor was famously crowned MVP of the competition after pouring in a spectacular 26 points in the Semi-Final with Brazil and 28 in the title game against Russia. That was enough to make history as Australia took their first ever global gold medal at a senior event. 

The Melbourne native played at four editions of the competition in total, winning bronze on her debut in 2002 and also in her last outing in 2014, when she was still impressive and made the All-Star Five.

Taylor also lined up for her country at the Olympic Games on three occasions, playing in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and Rio 2016. She was instrumental in taking the Opals to the Finals in the first two of her appearances as she scooped successive silver medals, with only an ACL injury denying her a spot at London 2012.

However, she returned to the Games four years later in Brazil to proudly captain her country at the event.

Her exceptional near two decades also brimmed with achievements and she was always destined for success, having come through the ranks as one of the famous AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) team of teenagers, which took the WNBL by storm to win the 1999 championship. Taylor would dominate the competition as a young gun, landing consecutive MVP awards as a mere 21 and 22-year-old.

Taking her game at club level to a wider global audience, Taylor attained multiple domestic titles in Europe, became one of the biggest stars in EuroLeague Women, and famously landed three WNBA titles at the Phoenix Mercury to underline why she was one of the very best ballers of her generation. 

The three-time Olympian is being enshrined in the Class of 2023 that includes Amaya Valdemoro (Spain), Yuko Oga (Japan), Katrina McClain (USA), Wlamir Marques (Brazil), Yao Ming (China), Liem Tjien Siong / Sonny Hendrawan (Indonesia), Angelo Monteiro dos Santos Victoriano (Angola); with both Carlos Loyzaga (Philippines) and Zurab Sakandelidze (Georgia) being inducted posthumously.  The Class also includes deserved recognition for coaching duo Valerie Garnier (France) and Alessandro Gamba (Italy).

Name	Penny TAYLOR
Category of Inductee	Player (Forward)
Date of birth	May 24th 1981
Place of birth	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Height	1.85m - 6ft 1in
Clubs	Australian Institute of Sport (1997-1999) Dandenong Rangers (1999-2002) Cleveland Rockers (2001-2003) Termocarispe La Spezia (2002-2003) Famila Schio (2003-2007) UMMC Ekaterinburg (2007-2009) Fenerbahe Istanbul (2009-2013) Dandenong Rangers (2014-2015) Shanxi Flame (2015-2016) Phoenix Mercury (2004-2007, 2009-2011, 2013-2014, 2016) [/unordered]
Club highlights	Australian League champion (1999) Two-time Italian League champion (2005, 2006) Russian League champion (2009) Four-time Turkish League champion (2010, 2011, 2012) Three-time WNBA champion (2007, 2009, 2014) [/unordered]
National Team highlights	Junior World Championship silver medalist (1997) Two-time Olympic Games silver medalist (2004, 2008) Two-time FIBA Basketball World Cup bronze medalist (2002, 2014) FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medalist (2006) [/unordered]
Individual highlights	Played in four FIBA Women's Basketball World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) Played in three Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2016)  Two-time Australian League MVP (2001, 2002) Three-time WNBA All-Star (2002, 2007, 2011) Two-time All-WNBA First Team (2007, 2011) FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP (2006) FIBA Basketball World Cup All-Star Five (2014) Australian Opals Captain (2014 – 2016) [/unordered]

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