Tanoka Dwight Beard (born September 29, 1971) is an American former^[1] professional basketball player and coach.^[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 cup titles, in three different European countries.

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Tanoka Beard

Beard in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2007
Personal information
Born	(1971-09-29) September 29, 1971 (age 52) Ogden, Utah
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	267 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High school	Bonneville (Washington Terrace, Utah)
College	Boise State (1989–1993)
NBA draft	1993: undrafted
Playing career	1993–2009
Position	Center / power forward
Number	6
Coaching career	2012–present
Career history
As player:
1993–1994	Lottomatica Roma
1994	Leche Río Breogán
1994–1995	Ülkerspor
1995–1996	Besançon BCD
1996–1998	Joventut Badalona
1998–1999	Real Madrid
1999–2000	Pamesa Valencia
2000–2001	Fenerbahçe
2001–2002	Joventut Badalona
2002	Lokomotiv MV
2003–2007	Žalgiris Kaunas
2007–2008	Hapoel Holon
2008	Guayama Wizards
2008	Fajardo Cariduros
2008–2009	Tartu Ülikool/Rock
As coach:
2012–2014	Layton Christian Academy (assistant)
2014–2018	American Preparatory Academy (assistant)
2018–2019	Layton Christian Academy (assistant)
2019–	Ben Lomond High
Career highlights and awards
As player: All-EuroLeague Second Team (2005) 2× FIBA EuroStar (1998, 1999) Spanish Cup winner (1997) 2× Spanish League MVP (1999, 2002) 5× Spanish League All-Star (1996–1999, 2001) Turkish League champion (1995) 4× Lithuanian League champion (2003–2005, 2007) Lithuanian Federation Cup winner (2007) 4× Lithuanian League MVP (2004–2007) 2× Lithuanian League Finals MVP (2004, 2007) 2× Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP (2004, 2005) Baltic League champion (2005) Baltic League MVP (2005) Baltic League Final Four MVP (2005) 3× All-BSC First Team (1991–1993)

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

After high school, Beard played college basketball at Boise State University, with the Boise State Broncos, from 1989 to 1993. He was named the Big Sky Conference's Freshman of the Year in 1990. He was named to the Big Sky Conference's First Team in 1991, 1992, and 1993. He was also named the MVP of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in 1993.

Over his four year college career, Beard averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. In his senior season, he averaged 21.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.^[3] Beard was named to the school's all-time basketball team in 2007.^[4]

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, for the highest Performance Index Rating (PIR), in a single game, with 63. He achieved the record while he was a member of Žalgiris Kaunas, in a EuroLeague 2003–04 season game against Fortitudo Bologna, on 22 January 2004. In that game, Beard recorded 35 points, 19 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, in 38 minutes of playing time.^[5]

After he retired from playing pro club basketball, Beard began working as a basketball coach in 2012.^[6] In 2013, he opened up a basketball academy youth club called Ogden Pride Youth Basketball Club, in Ogden, Utah.

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.