Aron Baynes (F/C, San Antonio Spurs), Australia
Height: 2.08m, 6-foot-10| Weight: 117.9kg, 260 pounds | Born: 9 December 1986
If you recognized the name 'Aron Baynes' before the 2013-14 season, chances are you just took a selfie with him and the NBA's biggest, shiniest prize.
At the time of publication, the brand-new NBA champion finds himself back home, touring Australia with two companions: Spurs teammate/fellow countryman Patty Mills and the Larry O'Brien Trophy. It's a trip that began in Melbourne on 16 July and finishes in Torres Straight on 21 July, with four cities in between.
Which seems fitting for the basketball nomad out of Queensland.
Born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, Baynes came to America to play college ball at Washington State University. Then promptly went undrafted. And it wasn't until stints in Lithuania, Germany, Greece and Slovenia that San Antonio – never to leave a rock unturned – came calling.
He's delivered as a Spurs reserve ever since, with a greater role by the day. A combo of great size and quick feet for a center, Baynes provided depth in the frontcourt behind Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter. And against LaMarcus Aldridge and the celebrated Blazers frontcourt in the Western Conference semis, Baynes gave fans around the world a glimpse of what's ahead, going for a near double-double in Game 2.
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Key Stats
2013-14 Season: GP: 53 | MinMPG: 9.3 | PTSts: 3.0 | RebEB: 2.7 | FT%: 90.7
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Season Highlight
Baynes went for 10 points and seven boards – after averaging just 3 and 2.7, respectively, in the regular season – in the Spurs' Game 2 win over the Blazers in the Western Conference semifinals.
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Awards
* 2014 NBA champion
---5 Facts
- Together with Mills, they became the 3rd and 4th Aussies to win an NBA title – after Luc Longley and Andrew Gaze. Gaze played for the 1998-99 champion Spurs and earned a ring with the team, though he didn't make the postseason roster.
- Baynes' career off-court highlights? Both from http://believethehypenba.com/: (1) He and Mills once lifted weights with Paul McCartney, when they talked their way into the same Memphis hotel gym where Sir Paul was getting in a sweat before a show. (2) He once ate four double-double cheeseburgers in one sitting at famed West Coast chain In-N-Out. Said Patty Mills to the San Antonio Express News: 'It was like three nibbles per burger.'
- Though not a member of the Australian National Team that won the FIBA Oceana title in 2013, Baynes did play for the 2011 champs – not to mention a sizable role for the Boomers in the 2012 Olympics, where he averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and shot 65 percent from the floor.
- Though he goes by 'Baynesy' Stateside, Patty Mills gave him his alternate nickname: 'Bangers'
- In six career NBA D-League games, Baynes has put up marks of 17.8 points and 9.7 boards
Check out Baynes' photos and videos in the LEAGUE section of the app
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