Deshon Taylor

Deshon Davion Taylor (born March 17, 1996 ) is an American professional basketball player currently playing with Uni Baskets Münster of the ProA. He played college basketball for the UMKC Kangaroos and Fresno State Bulldogs.

High school career Taylor was born in Los Angeles, California, to Desha Taylor and Terri Bailey. He played at John W. North High School in Riverside, California, and helped lead his team to four consecutive league titles. As a senior, Taylor averaged 24.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals a game while earning conference MVP, first-team all-state and all-county honors. He was recruited by Hawaii, UC Riverside and Portland State, but committed to play for the UMKC Kangaroos.

College career UMKC As a freshman at the University of Missouri–Kansas City in 2014–15, Taylor started 10 of his 33 games. He averaged 7.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists a game. Per National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulations, Taylor redshirted during the Bulldogs' 2015–16 season.

In his sophomore season and debut season in 2016–17 at Fresno State, Taylor played a sixth man role, starting 15 of his 33 games. He averaged 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals (9th), while leading the Mountain West Conference with a free throw percentage of .879. Taylor was named to the All-Mountain West Third Team. He averaged team-highs in points (17.8; in the Mountain West Conference (MWC)) and assists (2.6), as well as 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals (3rd) a game, with a free throw percentage of .833 (5th). His 200 made free throws were a single season program record. Taylor was named to the All-Mountain West First Team and All-Defense Team.

Before the start of his final 2018–19 season at Fresno State, Taylor was named to the 2018–19 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team. This game, coupled with a 25-point performance in a win against San Diego State, earned Taylor his first MW Player of the Week award on March 11, 2019. In his final game for Fresno State, Taylor scored six points in a loss to Utah State in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals. Taylor finished the season averaging 17.9 points (5th in the MWC), 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists (2nd), and 1.4 steals (3rd) a game, with a free throw percentage of .784 (6th). He signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) but was released before the start of the regular season after the team decided to re-sign Jerome Randle. Taylor then had a probationary period with Latvian team VEF Rīga where he did not appear in a game but participated in team practices.

On October 31, 2019, Taylor returned to Australia after signing with the Sydney Kings as an injury replacement for Kevin Lisch. Upon Lisch's return, Taylor's stint with the Kings was extended when he was nominated to serve as an injury replacement for Craig Moller. He was removed from the playing roster prior to the start of the playoffs due to the team's return to health but stayed with the Kings while they appeared in the 2020 NBL Finals, where they lost in a shortened finals series to the Perth Wildcats.

On January 12, 2021, Taylor signed with the Canterbury Rams of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the 2021 season. In 18 games, he averaged 22.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. With them, in 23 games he averaged 12.9 points per game. For the season, in 26 games with the team he averaged a league-leading 25.4 points per game.

On August 9, 2023, Taylor signed with Final Gençlik of the Türkiye Basketbol Ligi (TBL). For the season, he averaged 19.7 points per game. He played three games for the Taipans. On January 17, 2025, Taylor signed with ESSM Le Portel of the LNB Élite; he departed six days later without appearing in a game. On January 26, Taylor signed with KTP Basket in a return to the Korisliiga.

On January 22, 2026, Taylor joined Uni Baskets Münster of the ProA for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

College

Personal life Taylor is a cousin of former NBA player Quincy Pondexter. He has a son.