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Fatty Taylor
Roland Taylor 1972.jpg
Personal information
Born (1946-03-13)March 13, 1946
Washington, D.C.
Nationality American
Died December 7, 2017(2017-12-07) (aged 71)
Denver, Colorado
High school Spingarn (Washington, D.C.)
Listed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight 175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
College
  • Dodge City CC (1965–1967)
  • La Salle (1967–1969)
NBA Draft 1969 / Round: 12 / Pick: 167th overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career 1969–1977
Career history
1969–1974 Washington Caps / Virginia Squires
1974–1975 Denver Nuggets
1975–1976 Virginia Squires
1976–1977 Denver Nuggets
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× ABA All-Defensive First Team (1973, 1974)
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points 5,098 (8.0 ppg)
Rebounds 2,524 (3.8 rpg)
Assists 2,563 (4.0 apg)

Roland Morris "Fatty" Taylor (March 13, 1946 – December 7, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A 6’0" guard born in Washington, D.C. and an alum of La Salle University, Taylor joined the American Basketball Association in 1969. After one year playing for the Washington Capitals, he moved on to the Virginia Squires, with whom he spent the prime of his career, tallying 3,495 points, 1,737 assists, and 1,715 rebounds in five seasons. Taylor became known as one of the few outstanding defensive players in a league known primarily for a "run-and-gun" style. On the Squires Taylor played with former or later NBA stars including Adrian Smith, "Jumbo" Jim Eakins and Julius "Doctor J" Erving. For one-and-a-half seasons Taylor was a teammate of George Gervin, and Taylor has been credited with coining Gervin's nickname "The Iceman" (he first called Gervin "Iceberg Slim", which gradually developed into the more familiar nickname). Taylor spent one season in the NBA (1976–77) as a member of the Denver Nuggets, and he retired in 1977 with combined ABA/NBA totals of 5,098 points, 2,563 assists, and 2,524 rebounds.

Cancer and death

In 2000, Taylor was diagnosed with male breast cancer. One day after being diagnosed, Taylor went into surgery and ended up having a mastectomy. In 2011, he was found to have many blood clots in his chest and that the cancer had recurred in his lungs and bones, which Taylor had treatment for soon after.

Fatty Taylor died from the complications on December 7, 2017 at the age of 71.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Fatty Taylor para niños

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