The Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1996-97 as a senior at Tennessee-Chattanooga, Johnny Taylor was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft. He appeared in 12 games as a rookie, spending most of the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder strain, then played in 36 games in 1998-99, including nine starts. Taylor averaged 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 62 career games and became only the 10th UTC player to score 1,000 points, accomplishing it in just two seasons. Taylor averaged a team-high 16.5 ppg and 7.1 rpg (second on the team) as a senior, earning First Team All-Southern Conference honors for the second consecutive season. He led the Mocs to a 24-11 overall record, the 1997 Southern Conference Championship and into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. As a junior, Taylor played in 27 games after transferring from Indian Hills CC in Iowa, leading the team in both scoring (18.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg), shooting .510 (181-for-355) from the field and hitting 39 three-pointers. Taylor played in 12 games for Orlando in his rookie season, averaging 3.2 ppg, spending most of the year on the injured list. In his second season he played in 36 games, making nine starts, and contributed 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

1999-2000 REGULAR SEASON
Placed on the injured list on 2/24 with a lower back strain Traded to the Orlando Magic on 2/1, along with Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, in exchange for Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Chris Gatling and a lottery-protected, future first round draft pick Placed on the injured list due to patella tendinitis in his left knee on 11/14

1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors on 4/24 Recorded a career-high 21 points (8-13 FG, 4-6 3FG) and 6 rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves on 3/19 Scored 16 points (6-12 FG, 4-6 3FG) against the Houston Rockets on 3/17 Registered 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-3 3FG) and 3 steals in a 110-84 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies on 3/15

1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
On the injured list from 1/13 to 2/13, and from 2/16 to 4/13, due to a right shoulder strain Made his NBA debut against the Seattle SuperSonics on 11/30 On the injured list from 10/30 to 11/28 due to a right shoulder strain