Taurean Prince is an American professional basketball player that plays for the Atlanta Hawks. He was the twelfth overall pick, selected by the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association draft of 2016 during the first round. He has been playing for the Atlanta Hawks since his debut on October 27, 2016.
His position on the team is the small forward. Most people would say that in the two years since Prince joined the NBA, the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on March 11, 2018, would be his best game yet. He recorded a career-high 38 points with seven assists; which is frankly the best stat line of his two years in the NBA. He played so well that by the end of the Hawks’ final 16 games, he was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Dennis Schroder.
Who is Taurean Prince of NBA
Prince was born to Anthony and Tamiko Prince in San Marcos, Texas. He has two younger siblings; Catina and Derrick. He attended Earl Warren High School in San Antonio, Texas, and had his college education at Baylor University. His parents got divorced when he was young which made him grow up much faster than other kids his age. Especially when he decided to leave the small two-bedroom apartment he lived in with his mother and younger sister and go live with his father at age 12.
He had to go through a whole lot; starting with living in different houses (after his father lost their house), to seeking shelter with the Salvation Army, and finally to living with his friend, Bowdy Thompson, after his father was sent to jail for two years. Some would say these hardships made him the man and basketball player he is today and that it affected the way he plays and trains.
In high school, Prince played three seasons of basketball under head coach Jim Weaver. He led the team to the state semi-finals In his senior year. He originally had plans to play for the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds in college but switched to Baylor because of a coaching change within the former program.
He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears. In his freshman season, he played twenty-four games and all of them were off the bench. In addition, he finished the year with 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per game. The spring before his sophomore season, Prince was on the Big 12 conference commissioner’s honor roll.
He won the Big 12 sixth man award and obtained all-conference honors after gaining 6.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game and appearing in all 38 of Baylor’s games. In his fourth season, Fran Fraschilla marked him as a strong candidate for Big 12 Player of the year in 2015-16.
Although Prince had his debut on October 27, 2016, he officially became part of the NBA on June 23, 2016, after being selected by the Utah Jazz. On July 7, his rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal also involving the Indian Pacers. He signed the rookie scale contract with the Hawks on 15 July 2016.
March 11th is seen as a special day for Taurean Prince; just as special as a birthday or anniversary because, in both 2017 and 2018, it was the day he recorded his season-best. On March 11, 2017, he had 17 points in a 107-90 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Later in the year, on April 6 he scored a career-high 20 points in a 123-116 win over the Boston Celtics. With 11 points, Prince became the first Hawks rookie to reach double-figures in his first four playoff games since Pete Maravich did it in five straight in 1971.
After that, Prince just continued to excel. In December 2017, he scored career-high points, allowing his team to defeat their opponents. Starting with the match on the 12th, he scored 24 points in a 123-114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Three days later, he made five 3-pointers and had 17 points in a 96-94 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The next year started out well for him as well. He set a new career-high on February 2, 2018, with 31 points in a 119-110 loss to the Boston Celtics. Then on March 11 (yet again), 2018, he set a new career-high with 38 points in a 129-122 loss to Chicago Bulls. Six days later, he had another 38-point effort in a 122-177 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
5 Fast Facts About Taurean
1. Taurean Prince was born on March 22, 1994, in San Marcos, Texas.
2. Prince is 6 ft 8 inches (2.03m) tall and weighs 220lb (100kg)
3. Prince’s salary in 2018 was $2 million. His contract stipulates salaries of $3 million in 2019 and 2020 and $5 million in 2021.
4. Prince credits his trainer, John Collins, with helping him reach the heights he has today in the NBA.
5. At age 12, he became homeless and lived on the streets. However, since then, his fortunes have turned around drastically.
