BIO: Taylor 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.

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NBL EXPERIENCE

Taylor Braun made his NBL debut with the Brisbane Bullets at 28 years of age. He scored 13 points in his first game.

After returning to the playoffs with a 14-14 record before losing to Perth in the semifinals, Brisbane entered the season without Adam Gibson (to South East Melbourne), Cameron Bairstow (to Rytas Vilnius), Makoto Hiejima (to Link Tochigi Brex), Nnanna Egwu (to Earth Friends Tokyo Z) and Stephen Holt (to Sixt Primorska). Head coach Andrej Lemanis added Nathan Sobey (via Adelaide), EJ Singler (via Panionios), Callum Dalton (via Gold Coast) and Taylor Braun (via Hapoel Be’er Sheva), before Lamar Patterson re-signed with the club.

The American wing signed a one-year deal after previously playing in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Israel and had been recommended to Brisbane by Joe Ingles after the pair crossed paths in Utah.

Brisbane opened the season against Illawarra at the WIN Entertainment Centre on October 6, where the American wing (3 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists) started as the Bullets defeated the Hawks 90-81. Braun (6.7 points across 28 games) played every game during the season, starting 12 times, and did not miss any games through injury.

Braun’s best game of the season came against Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on October 26, where he finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal as Brisbane lost 94-79. Casper Ware (17 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists) led Sydney, while Andrew Bogut (12 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists) helped the Kings improve to 5-0.

After three consecutive losses, Braun (12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists) helped Brisbane respond against defending champions Perth at Nissan Arena on November 1. Jason Cadee (17 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Bullets while Terrico White (23 points and 5 rebounds) was Perth’s best as Brisbane won 87-78, improving to 3-3 in Lemanis’ 350th NBL game as head coach.

During Brisbane’s 94-85 loss to Cairns on November 16, Braun (5 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist) was involved in a fourth-quarter incident with DJ Newbill (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists). The NBL Game Review Panel charged him with unduly rough play and issued a one-game suspension, which could be reduced to a $750 fine with an early guilty plea. The penalty did not result in Braun missing a game, with him appearing in Brisbane’s next matchup six days later.

Braun (9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) produced one of his best all-round performances against Adelaide on November 22 as Brisbane escaped with a 106-104 win at Nissan Arena. Anthony Drmic (25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Jerome Randle (25 points and 3 assists) led Adelaide as the Bullets improved to 5-5.

Two days later, Brisbane produced its worst performance of the season in a 108-94 loss to Melbourne, with Braun (8 points) coming off the bench while Melo Trimble (25 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists) and Tohi Smith-Milner (19 points) led United. The defeat dropped Brisbane to 5-6 as the Bullets struggled to build any early-season momentum.

Braun’s season-high scoring game came against New Zealand at Spark Arena on January 12, where he made 5-of-7 shots from the field and 3-of-4 three-pointers to finish with 14 points as Brisbane defeated the Breakers 95-85. Thomas Abercrombie (17 points and 4 rebounds) and Sek Henry (17 points) led New Zealand as Brisbane improved to 10-11 and continued its push back towards the top four.

Patterson (21 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals) remained Brisbane’s leading offensive player, earning All-NBL First Team honours and finishing third in MVP voting, while Sobey (16 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists) was the team’s second-leading scorer. Cadee (11 points) won the NBL Sixth Man award, while Matthew Hodgson (10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds), Will Magnay (8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks), Singler (7.8 points and 4.1 rebounds) and Cameron Gliddon (6.9 points) completed the main rotation. Magnay was elevated into the starting lineup during Brisbane’s late-season run and won the NBL Most Improved Player award.

Brisbane won six consecutive games during January and February to move into fourth place, but losses to New Zealand and Perth left the Bullets needing to defeat Cairns by at least 33 points in their final game to remain alive in the playoff race. It would be Braun’s only NBL season, with the import returning to Hapoel Be’er Sheva in Israel after Brisbane’s campaign.

In Brisbane’s final game at Nissan Arena on February 15, Braun (4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) helped the Bullets defeat Cairns 124-88. Sobey (30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals), Gliddon (25 points, 3 assists, and 4 steals) and Singler (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) led Brisbane, while Majok Deng (20 points and 7 rebounds) was Cairns’ leading scorer. The 36-point victory kept Brisbane alive overnight, but Melbourne defeated South East Melbourne 109-90 the following day, leaving the Bullets outside the playoffs in fifth place with a 15-13 record.

Taylor Braun played one season in the NBL. He averaged 6.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 28 NBL games.