Aron Baynes Attempting NBA Comeback After Spinal Cord Injury
Former San Antonio Spurs center Aron Baynes suffered a scary spinal cord injury while he was playing for the Australian men's national team in the Tokyo Olympics. He missed the entirety of the 2021-22 NBA season as a result.
Baynes, 35, has been battling through an extensive rehab process. He even had to re-learn how to walk. After extensive strength and physical therapy work, he's now working to find his way back into the NBA and sign his next contract.
The details of Baynes' immediate injury and the first few months were truly scary stuff. As detailed by ESPN, he experienced the fall that caused his spinal cord injury in the bathroom while the fourth quarter of Australia's game in pool play against Italy was happening.
Baynes was knocked unconscious last July 28 when he fell in the bathroom where he'd gone during the fourth quarter of Australia's Olympic pool play game with Italy. When he came to, he had numbness in his limbs and couldn't walk. He was rushed to the hospital where scans showed internal bleeding was putting pressure on his spine.
Given the nature of Baynes' injury, he had to spend time in a hospital in Tokyo even after the Olympics ended. He then furthered his recovery process in a hospital in Brisbane and it wasn't until January that he was cleared to play basketball.
Baynes was in hospitals in Tokyo and Brisbane for nearly two months last summer as he learned to walk again. He returned to playing basketball only in January after grueling weeks regaining his strength through daily physical therapy and is now ready to show teams his progress.
Baynes last played NBA basketball in the 2020-21 season as a member of the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in 53 games and averaged 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game. His NBA career began as a member of the Spurs in 2012 and he spent three seasons with the franchise.
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