Baynes: The Journey So Far

Aron Baynes is one of Australia’s most successful and respected basketballers.

A nine-year NBA veteran and a mainstay of the Australian Boomers program, Baynes will continue his career in the NBL with the Brisbane Bullets on a two-year deal.

After a career-threatening spinal cord injury at the Tokyo Olympics, the 35-year-old is set to write a new chapter in his basketball journey, one which has yielded the greatest success and taken him across the world.

This is his basketball story. 

2001: Brad Burdon introduces Baynes to basketball. In a story told to the Courier Mail, Burdon, coaching the basketball school of excellence at Cairns State High School, was short of players for a game in the local A-grade competition. Callum, Aron’s brother, says Aron, who is already 6’8 at the time, can fill in and his basketball career begins.

2003: Dominates at the 2003 Queensland State School Championships, helping his school become the first team to win the competition from the Cairns area.

2003/04: Cairns Taipans assistant coach Aaron Fearne begins working closely with Baynes in the Taipans’ academy program.

“When I say he was a blank canvas, I’m talking bright white with nothing on it. He was just so raw and had so much to learn,” Fearne said of Baynes, via The Athletic.

2004/05: Joins the Australian Institute of Sport, where he forms a close friendship with Patty Mills. The duo went on to share an NBA championship and Olympic bronze medal later in their careers.

2006: Accepts a scholarship to play college basketball at Washington State University.

2008: With Baynes becoming a force, Washington State makes back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The Cougars make the Sweet 16.

2009: In his first taste of the NBA, he plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Summer League.

2009/10: Professional career begins in Lithuania with Lietuvos Rytas, where he becomes a Lithuanian League champion, Lithuanian Cup winner and Slam Dunk Contest champion.

2010: Pulls on the green and gold and represents Australia at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey. 

2010/11: Plays for EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Germany, averaging 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

2011/12: Greece is the next stop on Baynes’ European voyage, spending a season with Ikaros Kallitheas.

2012: Becomes an Olympian, representing Australia at the 2012 Games in London. The Boomers reach the quarterfinals but can’t defeat the USA.

2012/13: Becomes a Slovenian Cup champion and Slovenian Supercup champion with Union Olimpija.

2013: A dream becomes reality, as Baynes signs with the San Antonio Spurs on January 23, 2013.

2013: Splits his time between the Spurs and their G-League affiliate, the Austin Toros.

2013: Makes his first NBA start in game four of the first-round playoff series against the Lakers.

2014: The summit is reached, as Baynes wins the NBA championship with the Spurs in his second season. He earns minutes in the final three games of the series, as San Antonio defeated the Miami Heat, 4-1.

2014: Baynes and the Boomers once again fall in the round of 16 stage at the FIBA World Cup, with a heartbreaking one-point loss to Turkey.

2015: After two seasons with the Spurs, Baynes signs a deal with the Detroit Pistons, where he starts to receive more playing time and opportunities.

2016: In March, Baynes scores a then career-high of 21 points against the Brooklyn Nets, as he establishes himself as a difference-maker in the NBA.

2016: Makes his second Olympic appearance at the Rio de Janeiro Games, and it is the source of further heartbreak, as Australia falls to Spain by one-point in the bronze medal game.

2017: Pulls down a career-high 17 rebounds for the Pistons in a win over the Phoenix Suns.

2017: On the move again, Baynes joins the Boston Celtics and becomes a fan-favourite for one of the NBA’s most famous teams.

2018: In Boston’s regular season finale, Baynes stars with 26 points and 14 rebounds in a win over the Nets.

2018: Scores a playoff career-high of 13 points in a starting role as Boston defeats the Philadelphia 76ers, 114-112, in the decisive game 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

2018/19: Injuries begin to derail Baynes’ career as he battles through a broken hand and left foot contusion during the season.

2019: Traded to the Phoenix Suns and is jolted right into the starting centre role after a suspension to Deandre Ayton.

2019: Baynes and Australia suffer defeat in another bronze medal game, this time to France at the FIBA World Cup.

2019: Dishes out a career-high seven assists, alongside 24 points and 12 rebounds, in an October victory over the Golden State Warriors.

2020: In the best individual performance of his career, Baynes scores a career-high 37 points, while hitting nine three-pointers, in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers in March. The nine three-pointers are the most by a centre in NBA history and tied for most in a game in Suns franchise history.

Baynes and 2018 NBA MVP James Harden are the only players in NBA history with 35+ points, 15+ rebounds and 9 three-pointers in a game.

2020: Contracts COVID-19, before suffering a right knee contusion, making his experience in the NBA Bubble an injury-marred one.

2020: Signs with the Toronto Raptors in November.

2021: On August 4, Baynes is waived by the Raptors.

2021: Baynes’ life changes at the Tokyo Olympics. During a game against Italy, he is found “sprawled on the floor, blood on his uniform and on the floor from two deep, inexplicable puncture wounds in his upper arm” after a fall, according to ESPN.

The spinal cord injury leaves Baynes hospitalised in Japan,  where he loses his ability to walk.

As he recovers in hospital, the Boomers win that elusive medal. Teammates Matthew Dellavedova and Nathan Sobey deliver Baynes his bronze medal in hospital.

2021: Begins his rehab as he attempts to make a basketball comeback.

2022: In an incredible story of hard work and dedication, Baynes works out in front of NBA teams at the Summer League in July.

2022: The comeback is complete as Baynes signs a two-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets.