Former NBA champion Aron Baynes has set his sights on an NBA comeback after recovering from a freak injury.
The 35-year-old last appeared in the NBA as a member of the Toronto Raptors during the 2020-21 season, struggling to find a role with the team before being waived at season’s end.
Baynes then suffered a spinal cord injury during Australia’s 2021 Olympic basketball campaign, taking him out of action for a full year.
Now back on the court, the centre has signed a two-year deal with the NBL’s Brisbane Bullets in an effort to prove he can still have an impact.
“It’s one of those things for NBA teams to show them what I can do and still do at the same level, I need to go out there and compete,” Baynes told SEN’s The Run Home.
“I’ve been doing the rehab; my ultimate goal is to get back to the NBA.”
Baynes held an independent workout in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League in hopes of impressing a team, however decided a return home to Australia would be the next best move after he failed to receive an offer.
“There are a lot of players now that have made their mark in the NBA that started here in the NBL,” Baynes said.
“For me it’s good, I get to come out here and play against that calibre of player and still work on what I’m doing and just prove that I can still do it and do it at a high level.
“I’ve seen the potential for basketball here in Queensland and the number of young guys that compete and make it to the NBA.”
Despite the high goal he has set himself, Baynes is grateful to be able to continue playing basketball after the injury that nearly ended his career.
A freak fall at the Tokyo Olympics caused internal bleeding that put pressure on Baynes’ spinal cord, which led to him initially being unable to walk and ultimately spending two months recovering in hospital.
“The entire left side (of my body) was shutting down, so the oxygen and everything, my lungs had stopped working on the left side, and everything else had too,” he said.
“My first goal when I was lying in hospital, I couldn't move the left side of my body and I wanted to be able to hug my family.
“I didn’t realise the severity.”
After an extended rehabilitation period, Baynes is ready to make an impact in his return to professional basketball.
“I’ve been on court for a fair while now, a few months probably, all since starting to first pick up a ball and then get running, so it’s kind of been a progression,” he said.
“(In) October I know I’ll be ready to go, it’s all about that preparation and just doing it smart.
“My driving force since that (injury) has been to make it back to the NBA.”
Baynes averaged 6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in his NBA career, playing a total of 522 games for five different teams.