Fatty Taylor
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.
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