Penny Taylor #13 Forward

Penny Taylor
2012 Regular Season Statistics
PPG-
RPG-
APG-
EFF-

Player Finder

Player Comparison

Close

Background

CAREER CAPSULE
  • Two-time WNBA Champion (2009, 2007)
  • 2006 World Championships MVP for Australia, gold medalist
  • Three-time WNBA All-Star (2011, 2007, 2002)
  • 2007 All-WNBA First Team
  • 2011 All-WNBA Second Team
  • No. 1 pick, 2004 Cleveland dispersal draft (Phoenix)
  • No. 11 pick, 2001 WNBA Draft (Cleveland)
  • Two-time Olympic silver medalist for Australia (2008, 2004)
  • Ten-year WNBA veteran, seven-year member of the Mercury… second-longest tenure in franchise history (Taurasi-8)
  • Eight 30-point efforts since joining the Mercury, tied for second-most in franchise history (Taurasi-31, Pondexter-8)
  • Second highest career field goal percentage in franchise history (.487 entering 2012)
  • Mercury franchise leader in career 3-point percentage (.406 entering 2012) and free throw percentage (.877)
  • Second on the Mercury franchise career rebounding chart (923)
  • Has made the second-most three-pointers in franchise history (193)

    2011 WNBA SEASON

  • All-WNBA Second Team
  • WNBA All-Star
  • Surpassed Jennifer Gillom for second on the Mercury career rebounding chart (923)
  • Shot a career-high 51.1 percent from the field
  • Shot better than 40 percent from the 3-point line for the third straight season, fifth time in her career
  • Averaged 16.7 points per game, second-high average of her career, highest since 2007 (17.8)
  • Second straight season averaging more than 15.0 points per game, third in the last four seasons
  • Averaged 4.7 assists per game, second most of her career
  • Averaged more than 4.5 assists per game in consecutive seasons for the first time in her career (5.0 in 2010)
  • Averaged 4.7 rebounds, fourth-highest average of her career, most since 2007
  • Averaged 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in two games without running mate Diana Taurasi
  • Recorded two double-doubles, one with points/rebounds and one with points/assists
  • Recorded one 30-point effort, the eighth of her career, tied for the second most in franchise history
  • Scored 20+ points six times
  • Aug. 11-26: Scored 14+ points in six straight games, her longest streak since 2007
  • June 17-28: Recorded 5+ assists in six straight games
  • June 17: Recorded her 100th career block
  • June 25: Became the 25th player in league history to score 3,500 career points
  • June 27: Named Western Conference Player of the Week, the second such award of her career
  • July 5: Made her 300th career 3-point field goal
  • July 26: Recorded 800th assist of her career
  • Aug. 20: Shot 13-of-13 from the free throw line, the second most made without a miss in WNBA history
  • Missed five of the last six games of the regular season with muscle spasms…Returned for the playoffs

    2010 WNBA SEASON

  • Ranked 11th in the WNBA averaging 15.9 points per game, second most of her career (17.8 in 2007)
  • Shot a career-high 50.9 percent (173-of-340) from the field, eighth-best effort in the WNBA… fourth-highest single-season performance in Mercury franchise history
  • Shot a career-high 44.2 percent (46-of-104) from three, fourth-best effort in the WNBA… second-best single-season performance in Mercury franchise history
  • Made a franchise-record 38 consecutive free throws from July 6-Aug. 17
  • Shot 89.3 percent (117-of-131) from the free throw line, sixth best in the WNBA
  • Tallied a career-high 5.0 assists, most on the team and fifth-most in the WNBA
  • Her 161 total assists were the second-most in a single season in franchise history
  • Led the team in assists a team-high 14 times
  • Tallied five or more assists in 20 games
  • Ranked 10th in the league with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio
  • Averaged a team-high 1.5 steals per game (14th WNBA), matching the second-highest mark of her career
  • Led the team in steals a team-high 14 times
  • Second on the Mercury’s all-time steals list (235)
  • Scored her 3,000th career point on June 10 vs. Minnesota
  • Made her 1,000th field goal on May 28 vs. Atlanta
  • Played a career-high 51 minutes on July 14 vs. Seattle (3OT)
  • Tied a career-high with eight assists on June 12 vs. Tulsa
  • Tied a career-high with six three pointers in a game on May 25 at Tulsa

    2009 WNBA SEASON

  • Averaged 10.9 pts, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.1 minutes per game
  • Ranked fourth on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game
  • Shot a career-high 43-of-48 (.896) from the free throw line
  • Scored 10+ points in nine of 14 games
  • Scored 15+ points four times
  • Led the team in steals three times
  • In just her second game of the season (an OT game on Aug. 4 at SEA), she recorded 18 points, two rebounds and four assists in just 19 minutes off the bench. Notched seven of those points in overtime
  • Made her first appearance of the season on Aug. 1 at MIN
  • Missed the first five games after signing with the Mercury (3-2)
  • Signed with the Mercury on July 17, 2009

    2007 WNBA SEASON

  • 2007 WNBA All-Star
  • 2007 All-WNBA First Team
  • Garnered first career Player of the Week award for the week of August 6-12 (Western Conference)
  • Averaged career-highs in points (17.8) and rebounds (6.3) for the second consecutive season
  • One of only two WNBA players ranked in the top 11 in points (7th-WNBA), rebounds (11th), field goal percentage (.499, 6th) and free-throw percentage (.884, 4th) in 2007 (Lauren Jackson)
  • Her 6.3 rebounding average was second on the team
  • Shot a career-best 49.9 percent from the field (6th-WNBA)
  • Posted a career-high and team-best five 30-point efforts this season
  • Six 30-point efforts since joining the Mercury, second-most in franchise list (Taurasi-11)
  • Scored 25 or more points in a WNBA record-tying four consecutive games from June 24-July 6
  • Led the Mercury with a career-high 88.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line (min. 20 attempts)
  • In a 12-game stretch from June 20-July 25, averaged 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists
  • Posted averages of 21.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the final 22 games of the season after averaging 11.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the year’s first 11 contests
  • Led the team in scoring 11 times (2nd-team)
  • Led the team in rebounding 12 times (2nd-team)
  • Led Mercury in steals 11 times, blocks six times and minutes seven times
  • Co-led team with three double-doubles (T. Smith)
  • Led team with four double-digit rebounding games
  • Posted 13 20-point efforts (2nd-team)
  • One of three Mercury starters to start every game in 2007 (Kelly Miller, T. Smith)

    2006 WNBA SEASON

  • Played her sixth WNBA season, third with Phoenix
  • Missed the team’s first 13 games; joined the club on June 30th at Los Angeles
  • Phoenix was 6-8 without Taylor (6-7 before arrival, 0-1 due to injury) and 12-8 with her
  • Averaged career-highs in points (13.9) and rebounds (5.7) in 20 games (eight starts)
  • The Mercury were 6-2 in Taylor’s eight starts
  • With 277 total points in 2006, eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for her career
  • Scored 20 or more points four times, 15+ eight times and in double figures 16 times
  • Led the team in scoring three times and in rebounding four times
  • Tallied a team-best 1.5 steals per game
  • Scored a season-high 24 points off the bench August 8 vs. Minnesota, tied for the second-most points scored off the bench in Mercury history.

    2005 WNBA SEASON

  • Played 29 games (all starts)
  • Missed the first four games of the season due to her overseas playing commitment to the Italian Women’s League
  • Averaged 13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 29.4 minutes
  • Shot 46.4 percent from the field, including 40.4 percent from beyond the arc; also shot 86.4 percent from the line
  • Scored 20+ points seven times and became the fourth Mercury player in franchise history to score 30 or more points (13 vs. WAS on 7/15)
  • Tied Brandy Reed’s Phoenix arena record for points in a game.

    2004 WNBA SEASON

  • Played 33 games for the Mercury (all starts)
  • Averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.58 steals
  • Set career season marks for points (434), rebounds (160), assists (82) and steals (52)
  • Ranked fifth in the league in field- goal percentage (.484), sixth in free-throw percentage (.861) and three-point field goal percentage (.427)
  • Ranked eight in steals per game (1.58) and ninth in the league in total steals (52)
  • Recorded one double-double on July 18 vs. Minnesota (20 points and 10 rebounds).

    2003 WNBA SEASON

  • Appeared in 34 games (33 starts)
  • Averaged 11.7 points, 2.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 26.5 minutes
  • Scored a Cleveland franchise-record 33 points vs. Phoenix on 8/1
  • Led the team in scoring 12 times and steals 11 times
  • Scored in double-figures 21 times
  • Surpassed 1,000 career-point plateau against Detroit on 8/21.

    2002 WNBA SEASON

  • 2002 WNBA All-Star
  • In 30 games (26 starts), averaged 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.23 steals in 30.3 minutes
  • Among WNBA leaders, ranked 20th in scoring and seventh in free-throw percentage (.853).

    2001 WNBA SEASON

  • Selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft by the Cleveland Rockers
  • One of only four Cleveland players to play in all 32 games
  • Averaged 7.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals
  • During the 2001 Playoffs, averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals
  • Scored a playoff career-high 10 points on 8/18 vs. Charlotte

    INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL TEAM
    • Spent 2010-11 offseason playing for Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey

  • Spent 2009-10 offseason playing for Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey
  • Spent 2008-09 offseason playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Ekaterinburg, Russia
  • Helped lead the Australian National Team to a silver medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China
  • Spent 2007-08 offseason playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Ekaterinburg, Russia
  • Spent 2006-07 offseason playing for Famila Basket in Shio, Italy
  • Spent 2005-06 offseason playing for Famila Basket in Shio, Italy
  • Named the Most Valuable Player at the 2006 FIBA World Championships in Brazil
  • 2006 gold medalist at the World Championships in Brazil
  • 2004 silver medalist as a member of the Australian Women’s National Team in Athens Olympics
  • 2000 bronze medalist in the Sydney Olympics as a member of the Australian Women’s National Team
  • During the 2005 offseason, played for Termomeccanica La Spezia in the Italian Championship
  • Played for WNBL Dandenong Rangers from 1998-2002
  • Led the league in scoring with 25.5 ppg and steals with 2.5 spg during the 2000-01
  • Named the WNBL Most Valuable Player during the 2000-01 season and was selected to the WNBL All-Star Five
  • Member of the 1999 WNBL championship team
  • 1997-98: Played for the AIS (Australian Institute of Sports)

    • Personal

    • Full name is Penelope Jane Taylor
    • Has been a member of the Australian National Team since 1998
    • Began playing basketball at the age of four and decided she wanted to pursue basketball professionally when she was offered a scholarship with the AIS
    • Says her favorite place to be is on the beach with a good book
    • Her parents are Michael Taylor and Denna Noble
    • She has one brother (Phillip) and one sister (Heather)

    Career Transactions

  • Re-signed to a multi-year deal on April 16, 2010
  • Selected by Cleveland Rockers in first round (11th overall) of WNBA Draft, April 20, 200
  • Selected by the Phoenix Mercury as the No. 1 Overall Pick in the 2004 WNBA Dispersal Draft (Cleveland Rockers); cored and re-signed before the start of the 2007 season.

    • Copyright WNBA Enterprises, LLC. | Turner Sports Interactive, All rights reserved. No portion of WNBA.com may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the WNBA.com Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use.
    WNBA.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network.
    Advertise on NBA.com | Career Opportunities | Help