By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Joining back-to-back EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes in November 2022 to fill the gap left by Shane Larkin’s injury, Isaiah Taylor never really managed to take an opportunity to shine in Turkey. However, things changed when 2023 arrived, joining Zalgiris Kaunas.
Following Keenan Evans’ serious injury in the first game of the season against Fenerbahce, the Lithuanian club brought in the Texas Longhorns alumni, who ended his experience there as Lithuanian League Finals MVP, winning the domestic league and the King Mindaugas Cup.
The club parted ways with him in the summer, and now the 29-year-old guard revealed he wasn’t going to renew after the 2022-23 season way before the domestic league ended. During a Q&A session on his X profile, Isaiah Taylor revealed a backstory. “[My] agent told me I wasn’t the guy during the [EuroLeague] Final 4”, the current Shanxi Loongs guard explained.
When Zalgiris Kaunas and Nazareth Mitrou-Long parted ways at the end of November, before Edmond Sumner joined the green-and-white side, Isaiah Taylor received tons of messages from Zalgiris Kaunas fans, sharing his gratitude with another message on social media. “Zalgiris fans I hear y’all. Still got love my way. I’ll leave it there“, he said.
The former Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets playmaker, who also played with UCAM Murcia in the 2021-22 ACB, averaged 7.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in last year’s EuroLeague with Zalgiris. In the LKL, instead, he powered up for 10.1 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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