BIOGRAPHY
Aron Baynes was born on December 9, 1986, in Gisborne, New Zealand. He is a Center in the NBA.
Baynes moved with his family to the small Australian town of Mareeba, Queensland at 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. Shortly after high school graduation, he joined the Australian Institute of Sport in 2004–05 and accepted a college scholarship to play for Washington State University in 2006.
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. After playing for EWE Baskets Oldenburg, Ikaros Kallitheas, and Union Olimpija Baynes decided to leave and pursue 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. 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. 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 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 19 July 2017, Baynes signed with the Boston Celtics. 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. Baynes has also played for the Australian national team, the Boomers, at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
On June 21, 2019, Baynes was traded to the Phoenix Suns.
