Veteran NBA champion Aron Baynes announces retirement from basketball

Former NBA champion and New Zealand native Aron Baynes has retired from basketball.

On Wednesday, his agent, Daniel Moldovan, revealed that Baynes has retired from basketball. He shared the news on social media.

“Mareeba’s boy! Representing you throughout your career has been the honor of a lifetime. You embody everything we teach young athletes about professionalism, dedication and playing for the name on the front of the shirt, not the back. Love you Aza!

All the best in retirement 💚💛”

Baynes most recently played in the NBA during the 2020-21 season when he was a member of the Toronto Raptors.

He finished that year averaging 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest, while shooting 44.1% from the field and 26.2% from three-point range in 53 games (31 starts).

Just a few weeks ago, Baynes left the door open to continue his playing career.

Baynes has not signed with any NBL team for the 2024-25 season, leading to the widespread assumption in the league that he would end his playing career. However, at the time, he kept his letters secret.

“I’m not labeling anything,” Baynes told ESPN.

“My body feels good. I love playing. It’s just, right now, I’m focused on my family and being there for my kids. Just being a dad now. Just enjoying not having to be anywhere at any given time, other than school dropout and school withdrawal.

“At the moment, nothing labeled; just, the body is very good, but I’m moving well. We’ll see how it goes.”

The 37-year-old played for the Brisbane Bullets in the 2023-24 NBL season and averaged 7.3 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Baynes had quite the NBA career, playing for five different teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Raptors.

In his first two NBA seasons, he played in the NBA Finals with the Spurs, losing one and winning the other.

During his tenure with the Suns, he recorded a career-high 37 points, made nine three-pointers and 16 rebounds.

In his playing career, he was NBA champion, Slovenian Cup champion, Slovenian Super Cup champion, Greek League rebounding leader, member of the Greek second team, LKL champion, Lithuanian Cup winner and contest champion LKL Slam Dunk.

Prior to his NBA career, he attended Washington State, where he played for four seasons and went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.

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