After nine years in the NBA and three out of it, center Aron Baynes is calling it career.
The 37-year-old Australian big man is formally retiring from basketball, he announced Wednesday afternoon through agent Daniel Moldovan.
“The boy from Mareeba!” Moldovan wrote, referencing Baynes’s small Queensland hometown. “Representing you for your entire 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 jersey, not on the back.”
Baynes spent a nine-year NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors.
Highlights of that career included an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2014 and a memorable eruption for 37 points and nine three-pointers on March 6, 2020 in a 127–117 Suns win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The boy from Mareeba! Representing you for your entire 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 jersey, not on the back.
Love you Azza! All the very best… pic.twitter.com/bejepCQA2t
— Daniel Moldovan (@AgentMoldovan) October 16, 2024
Baynes played four collegiate seasons at Washington State, helping the school make two NCAA tournaments under Tony Bennett.
In international play, he won a bronze medal with Australia in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
