{{short description|American basketball player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{more footnotes needed|date=December 2014}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Fatty Taylor | image = Roland Taylor 1972.jpg | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lb = 175 | birth_date = {{birth date|1946|03|13}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|12|07|1946|03|13}} | death_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S. | high_school = Spingarn (Washington, D.C.) | college = *Dodge City CC (1965–1967) *La Salle (1967–1969) | draft_year = 1969 | draft_round = 12 | draft_pick = 167 | draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers | career_start = 1969 | career_end = 1977 | career_position = Point guard | career_number = 14, 54, 1, 21 | years1 = {{abay|1969|start}}–{{abay|1973|end}} | team1 = Washington Caps / Virginia Squires | years2 = {{abay|1974|full=y}} | team2 = Denver Nuggets | years3 = {{abay|1975|full=y}} | team3 = Virginia Squires | years4 = {{nbay|1976|full=y}} | team4 = Denver Nuggets | highlights = * 2× ABA All-Defensive First Team ({{abay|1972|end}}, {{abay|1973|end}}) | stats_league = ABA and NBA | stat1label = Points | stat1value = 5,098 (8.0 ppg) | stat2label = Rebounds | stat2value = 2,524 (3.8 rpg) | stat3label = Assists | stat3value = 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 (ABA) 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).{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} 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 after his doctor's fill-in found that one of his nipples was inverted. One day after being diagnosed, Taylor went into surgery and ended up having a mastectomy.<ref>[http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/fatty-taylor-passes-120717-2 Former Nugget Roland 'Fatty' Taylor Passes Away at 71]</ref> 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. In July 2015, he found that cancer had spread into his pelvis and he had many complications afterward.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://malebreastcancercoalition.org/Survivor%20Stories/roland-fatty-taylor/|title=Roland 'Fatty' Taylor - Male Breast Cancer Coalition|work=Male Breast Cancer Coalition|access-date=2017-12-08|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-12-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209100026/http://malebreastcancercoalition.org/Survivor%20Stories/roland-fatty-taylor/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Fatty Taylor died from the complications on December 7, 2017, at the age of 71.
==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend|leader=y}} {|class ="wikitable" |- |style="background:#afe6fa; width:3em;"|† |Denotes seasons in which Boone's team won an ABA championship |- |style="background:#E0CEF2; width:3em;"|‡ |ABA record |}
===ABA/NBA=== Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/taylofa01.html|title=Fatty Taylor ABA & NBA stats|website=Basketball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=4 May 2026}}</ref>
====Regular season==== {{NBA player statistics start}} |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1969}} | style="text-align:left;"|Washington (ABA) | 83 || 24.0 || '''.467''' || .167 || .674 || 4.5 || 2.4 || || || 8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1970}} | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | '''84''' || 19.4 || .458 || .182 || .684 || 3.1 || 2.7 || || || 6.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1971}} | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | '''84''' || 31.8 || .450 || .067 || .636 || '''5.0''' || 3.8 || || || 9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1972}} | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 78 || 32.7 || .465 || '''.429''' || .605 || 4.1 || 4.8 || style="background:#cfecec;|'''2.7'''* || || '''10.1''' |- | style="text-align:left";|{{abay|1973}} | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 80 || '''35.2''' || .412 || .158 || .723 || 4.7 || 5.2 || '''2.7''' || '''.2''' || 9.7 |- | style="text-align:left";|{{abay|1974}} | style="text-align:left;"|Denver (ABA) | 76 || 26.6 || .428 || .286 || '''.750''' || 2.9 || 4.4 || 2.3 || '''.2''' || 8.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{abay|1975}} | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 76 || 32.7 || .405 || .216 || .723 || 4.5 || '''5.3''' || '''2.7''' || '''.2''' || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1976}} | style="text-align:left;"|Denver | 79 || 19.6 || .420 || || .569 || 2.7 || 3.6 || 1.7 || .1 || 3.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (ABA) | 561 || 28.8 || .439 || .206 || .680 || 4.1 || 4.1 || 2.6 || .2 || 8.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (overall) | 640 || 27.7 || .438 || .206 || .676 || 3.9 || 4.0 || 2.4 || .2 || 8.0 {{s-end}}
====Playoffs==== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG |- | style="text-align:left;"|1970 | style="text-align:left;"|Washington (ABA) | 7 || 18.4 || '''.455''' || – || – || 3.1 || 2.7 || || || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1971 | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 12 || 17.8 || .425 || .000 || .679 || 3.1 || 2.3 || || || 4.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1972 | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 11 || '''34.7''' || .443 || .333 || .667 || '''5.2''' || 4.1 || || || '''10.5''' |- | style="text-align:left;"|1973 | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 5 || 33.8 || .342 || '''.500''' || '''.933''' || 4.2 || 2.8 || || || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1974 | style="text-align:left;"|Virginia (ABA) | 5 || 33.4 || .296 || .167 || .545 || 5.0 || '''5.0''' || 1.6 || '''.6''' || 7.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1975 | style="text-align:left;"|Denver (ABA) | '''13''' || 21.2 || .453 || .000 || .789 || 2.9 || 2.8 || '''2.1''' || .2 || 5.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1977 | style="text-align:left;"|Denver | 1 || 1.0 || – || || – || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (ABA) | 53 || 25.2 || .406 || .214 || .718 || 3.8 || 3.2 || 1.9 || .3 || 6.2 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (overall) | 54 || 24.8 || .406 || .214 || .718 || 3.7 || 3.1 || 1.8 || .3 || 6.1 {{s-end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/taylofa01.html Career stats]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Fatty}} Category:1946 births Category:2017 deaths Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Category:Deaths from male breast cancer Category:Deaths from breast cancer in Colorado Category:Denver Nuggets players Category:Dodge City Conquistadors basketball players Category:La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Category:Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Category:Point guards Category:Undrafted ABA players Category:Virginia Squires players Category:Washington Caps players
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