Former Boston Celtics big man might be all the way back
By Sam LaFrance
Former Boston Celtics big man Aron Baynes is looking like himself again, after suffering a scary injury at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The Australian has been playing basketball in his home country, suiting up for the NBL’s Brisbane Bullets. On Tuesday, he had himself a monster game against the Illawarra Hawks. Baynes posted 20 points and 20 rebounds in Brisbane’s 95-88 loss to Illawarra.
Aron Baynes was back to his best this afternoon, posting a monster 20-20 stat line against the Illawarra Hawks 💪 pic.twitter.com/wIundb5LJ5
— NBL (@NBL) September 20, 2023
Despite the loss, the stat line was still dominant, even making its way onto my Twitter/X timeline and now you’re reading an article about it. Plus, it’s nice to see him back doing well after suffering such a scary injury.
Baynes’ days in the NBA are likely finished as he hasn’t suited up for a North American team since 2021 when he played for the Toronto Raptors.
In his lone season up North, No. 46 averaged 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 44.1% from the field and 26.2% from long range.
Aron Baynes is a fond memory from a weird time in Boston Celtics history
Baynes spent two seasons with the Celtics from 2017-19, appearing in 132 games and starting in 85 of them. He averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest and was slightly more efficient than he was for the Raptors. Baynes converted on 47.1% of his field goal attempts and 29.2% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The two seasons that Baynes spent in Boston were quite strange. Of course, they included Kyrie Irving, who was traded to the Cs from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2017.
In year one of Baynes’ tenure, Boston overachieved and made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, despite being without their two stars — Irving and Gordon Hayward. The second season was a more disappointing outcome for the Cs as they went crashing out of the playoffs in the second round, falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in just five games.
Despite the disappointing end, most Celtics fans fondly remember Baynes because he was an excellent vibes guy. Plus, there was that one time that the great Tommy Heinsohn gave a description of what Baynes looked like in the shower.