Aron Baynes

Aron John Baynes (born 9 December 1986) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL).

He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professional career in Europe.

Baynes was born in Gisborne, New Zealand to New Zealand parents in 1986.

His family moved to the small Australian town of Mareeba, Queensland when he was three years of age.

He grew up playing rugby league in Far North Queensland while attending Mareeba State High School until the age of 15 when his older brother, Callum, introduced him to basketball.

As a result, Baynes decided to focus on pursuing a career in basketball and subsequently quit rugby league.

Shortly after high school graduation, he joined the Australian Institute of Sport in 2004–05 and accepted a college scholarship offer from Tony Bennett to play for Washington State University in 2006.

During his college career under Bennett, Washington State tied the school wins record twice consecutively, going 26–8 in 2006–07 and 26–9 in 2007–08.

On 29 May 2009, Baynes signed a two-year deal with Lietuvos Rytas of the Lithuanian Basketball League.

In July 2009, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers' Summer League team.

Following the 2009–10 season, he parted ways with Lietuvos Rytas.

On 15 July 2010, Baynes signed a two-year deal with EWE Baskets Oldenburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga.

In 40 games for Oldenburg in 2010–11, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

On 29 June 2011, he parted ways with Oldenburg.

On 24 August 2011, Baynes signed a one-year deal with Ikaros Kallitheas of the Greek Basket League.

On 1 August 2012, Baynes signed a one-year deal with Union Olimpija of the Slovenian Basketball League.

During the 2012–13 season, he was assigned multiple times to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

He made his first NBA start in Game 4 of the Spurs' first-round playoff match-up against the Los Angeles Lakers, and was tasked with defending Dwight Howard.

In 2013, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, and a year later, won an NBA championship with the Spurs.

He has also played with the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors.

Baynes also plays for the Australian national team.

On 5 January 2013, he played his final game for Olimpija, as he later left the team in pursuit of an NBA contract.

On 23 January 2013, Baynes signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

In his second NBA game, Baynes recorded seven points, nine rebounds and one block in a 102–78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Spurs went on to reach the 2013 NBA Finals but lost the series in seven games to the Miami Heat.

On 1 December 2013, Baynes was reassigned to the Austin Toros.

He was recalled on 2 December, reassigned on 8 December, and recalled again on 9 December.

On 6 May 2014, he recorded playoff career-high numbers of 10 points and seven rebounds in a 116–92 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals.

Baynes went on to help the Spurs defeat the Miami Heat 4–1 in the 2014 NBA Finals to claim his first NBA championship.

On 26 September 2014, Baynes re-signed with the Spurs.

On 20 December 2014, he scored a then career-high 16 points while starting in place of Tim Duncan in a 99–93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

On 1 April 2015 and 3 April 2015, Baynes had back-to-back 18-point games.

On 12 July 2015, Baynes signed with the Detroit Pistons.

On 19 March 2016, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 115–103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

On 14 November 2016, Baynes scored 20 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder while starting in place of Andre Drummond.

On 19 March 2017, Baynes grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds alongside 13 points in a 112–95 win over the Phoenix Suns.

On 19 July 2017, Baynes signed with the Boston Celtics.

In a game against the Charlotte Hornets, Baynes injured Celtics teammate and star point guard Kyrie Irving.

On 8 November 2017, he matched his career high with 21 points in a 107–96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the Celtics' regular season finale on 11 April 2018, Baynes led a short-handed Boston lineup with a career-best 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 110–97 win over the Brooklyn Nets.