Traylor was a McDonald's All-American the same year as Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter and Paul Pierce. He attended the University of Michigan. Standing and weighing in excess of 300 pounds, he joined a frontcourt for the Wolverines that included Maurice Taylor and Maceo Baston. That year, Traylor broke a backboard while dunking in a game against Ball State. Traylor helped lead the Wolverines to the 1997 National Invitation Tournament title, and was named the tournament's most valuable player. His junior year was his best, as he averaged 16.2 points and 10 rebounds while leading his team to the inaugural Big Ten Tournament championship and second round of the NCAA Tournament as a three seed. Traylor was one of the former Michigan players whose ties to booster Ed Martin roiled the program. During his freshman year, Traylor broke his arm in a car accident while out with teammates and recruiting prospect Mateen Cleaves. That accident triggered a six-year investigation into the Wolverine program. Martin, who died in 2003 at 69, pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to launder money and told federal prosecutors he took gambling money, combined it with other funds and lent $616,000 to Traylor, Chris Webber and two other Wolverine players dating to when they were still in high school. Traylor received three years' probation for tax fraud. Due to NCAA violations connected to the case, Michigan withdrew from consideration for the 2003 NCAA tournament, lost scholarships and was placed on probation. The school also vacated the records of every game in which Traylor played from its record book. Traylor also had to surrender his MVP award for the 1997 NIT, as well as his MVP award from the 1998 Big Ten tournament. Murray-Wright High School in Detroit, where Traylor played high school basketball, voluntarily forfeited its entire 1994–95 season.
NBA career
In the 1998 NBA Draft, Traylor was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Pat Garrity and German prospect Dirk Nowitzki. Many rank this as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history, as Nowitzki would go onto a 21-season career with the Mavericks, while Garrity was shortly thereafter traded by the Mavericks for future Hall of Famer, Steve Nash. In the 2005 offseason, Traylor had surgery on his aorta. He then signed on with the New Jersey Nets for the 2005–06 NBA season, but—due to his failing a physical examination—the deal was scrapped. Traylor battled weight problems throughout his career.
On May 11, 2011, Traylor was found dead at his apartment in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico, of an apparent heart attack. Traylor was talking to his wife on the phone at the time; the connection was suddenly lost, at which point his wife Raye Traylor alerted team officials to investigate. ESPN reported that Traylor had died of a heart attack. Former coach Paul Silas commented on Traylor's death, saying, "It's just a shock and hard to believe."
Further information
Enlund, Tom. "." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Thursday June 25, 1998. 3C. Google News 193 of 205.
"." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 28, 1998. Page 13.
