Tanoka Beard

Tanoka Dwight Beard (born September 29, 1971) is an American former[1] professional basketball player.[2] During his career, he was able to play both the power forward and center positions. He earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2005, while leading the competition in rebounds, with an average of 10.6 per game. He won various European national domestic league championships and national domestic cups, from various different European basketball leagues.

Tanoka Beard
Beard in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2007
Personal information
Born (1971-09-29) September 29, 1971
Ogden, Utah
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight267 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High schoolBonneville
(Washington Terrace, Utah)
CollegeBoise State (1989–1993)
NBA draft1993 / Undrafted
Playing career1993–2009
PositionCenter / Power forward
Number6
Career history
1993–1994Lottomatica Roma
1994Leche Río Breogán
1994–1995Ülkerspor
1995–1996Besançon BCD
1996–1998Joventut Badalona
1998–1999Real Madrid
1999–2000Pamesa Valencia
2000–2001Fenerbahçe
2001–2002Joventut Badalona
2002Lokomotiv MV
2003–2007Žalgiris Kaunas
2007–2008Hapoel Holon
2008Guayama Wizards
2008Fajardo Cariduros
2008–2009Tartu Ülikool/Rock
Career highlights and awards

EuroLeague records since the 2000–01 season

  • Highest PIR in a game
Beard's former Žalgiris #6 jersey (left)

High school

Beard attended Bonneville High School, in Washington Terrace, Utah, where he played high school basketball.

College career

After high school, Beard played college basketball at Boise State University, with the Boise State Broncos, from 1989 to 1993.

Professional career

Beard was twice named the Liga ACB's (Spain's top-tier level league) Most Valuable Player, in 1999 and 2002. He also holds the EuroLeague record since the 2000–01 season, for the highest Performance Index Rating (PIR), in a single game, with 63.

Awards and accomplishments

Championships
  • 1994–95 Turkish National Championship (Ülkerspor)
  • 1996–97 Spanish National Cup (Joventut Badalona)
  • 2002–03 Lithuanian National Championship (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2003–04 Lithuanian National Championship (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 Lithuanian National Championship (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 Baltic League Championship (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2006–07 Lithuanian National Championship (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2006–07 Lithuanian National Cup (Žalgiris Kaunas)

Personal achievements and awards
  • 1998–99 FIBA EuroStar (Real Madrid)
  • 1998–99 Spanish League MVP (Real Madrid)
  • 1999–00 FIBA EuroStar (Valencia)
  • 2001–02 Spanish League MVP (Joventut Badalona)
  • 2003–04 Lithuanian League MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2003–04 Lithuanian League Finals MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 Baltic League MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 Baltic League Final Four MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 All-EuroLeague Second Team (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2004–05 Lithuanian League MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2005–06 Lithuanian League MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2006–07 Lithuanian League MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)
  • 2006–07 Lithuanian League Finals MVP (Žalgiris Kaunas)

Musical career

During 2005–06 season with Žalgiris, Beard recorded a track and a music video, with duo Linas and Simona, named "I Love U". This song was released on the album with the same name, on 22 July 2005, and in two weeks, it reached number 1 on the Lithuanian M-1 radio station. The lead singer of the duo, Linas Adomaitis, produced Beard's album, which has never been released.

EuroLeague career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2002–03 Žalgiris Kaunas 3230.0.629.000.87513.31.71.7.317.027.3
2003–04 Žalgiris Kaunas 201026.0.561.000.6967.6.71.1.814.617.4
2004–05 Žalgiris Kaunas 202032.5.578.333.77110.61.31.5.418.021.9
2005–06 Žalgiris Kaunas 141327.8.429.130.7818.12.1.9.313.615.4
2006–07 Žalgiris Kaunas 141431.0.547.214.6679.91.6.9.614.518.3
2007–08 Žalgiris Kaunas 2019.7.308.000.5004.0.51.5.55.54.0
Career 735929.1.536.188.7309.11.31.1.515.218.5

References
  1. "Former pro basketball player strives to be role model for young athletes". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  2. "Week 11 MVP: Tanoka Beard, Zalgiris Kaunas". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
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