Taylor Hendricks

Taylor Hendricks, born on November 22, 2003, currently stands as an integral player in the American basketball landscape. His story starts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he first honed his talent for basketball at NSU University School. Hendricks highlights from his high school career include a significant contribution to the University team’s successful defense of the FHSSA Class 5A State championship during the 2018-2019 season. His team triumphed despite an injury to Vernon Carey Jr., an essential player.

In a career-shaping move, Hendricks transferred to Calvary Christian Academy after completing his sophomore year. His performance during his junior season was noteworthy – he averaged 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. His efforts played a significant role in leading Calvary Christian to win the Florida 3A state championship. By his senior year, Hendricks earned the Broward County Player of the Year title, having averaged an impressive 15.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. For the second year running, Calvary Christian maintained their position as state champions.

Rising in prominence, Hendricks was rated a four-star recruit. He received offers from a host of prestigious institutions, including Florida, Florida State, Miami (Florida), LSU, Memphis, and Iowa State. However, the up-and-coming player chose to commit his talents to UCF, making him the highest-ranking recruit in UCF’s history.

Despite entering his freshman season at UCF not being seen as an NBA prospect, he quickly made a name for himself. He became the starting power forward for the Knights with an imposing opening season feat of scoring 23 points and executing 3 blocks and 2 steals against UNC Asheville. Thanks to these impressive performances, he was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Week for a record four consecutive weeks from November 21 through December 12. This achievement put him in the same league with Austin Nichols, the only other person to have won the award three weeks in a row.

Hendricks excellence continued to shine, becoming the holder of six American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week awards by January 6, 2023. He shared this accomplishment with Jalen Duren, Precious Achiuwa, and Dedric Lawson. However, Hendricks surpassed this group by winning the award for the seventh, eighth, and ninth time, setting a new conference single-season record. Furthermore, he improved his career-high to 25 points on February 26 against the Tulsa.

At the end of the season, Hendricks was named to the All-AAC 2nd team and the All-Freshman team. This accomplishment marked the finales of his college basketball journey as he signed with an agent, thereby relinquishing the remainder of his college eligibility, and decided to enter the 2023 NBA draft.

His leap into the NBA was marked by Utah Jazz selecting him with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 draft. This achievement crowned him as the highest NBA draft pick, the first lottery pick, and the first one-and-done player in UCF’s history. Few months into his professional career, Taylor Hendricks scored a career high 12 points against the Sacramento Kings on Dec 16th, 2023. This feat cleared any doubts, affirming that the rise of Taylor Hendricks in the world of basketball was far from over.