Aron Baynes to Hold Workout for NBA Teams in Las Vegas After Spinal Injury Recovery | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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Veteran center Aron Baynes will hold a workout for NBA teams in Las Vegas on Friday, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Baynes has been recovering from a spinal cord injury he suffered last July that left him unable to walk for two months.

Per that report, Baynes fell in the locker room during the fourth quarter of an Olympics matchup between Australia and Italy last summer and was knocked unconscious. He couldn’t walk after the fall, had numbness in his limbs and hospital scans showed internal bleeding, which put pressure on his spine.

“The loneliest time in my life was laying in that hospital, going in and out of consciousness, going over my life plan and my goals and just crying,” Baynes told Windhorst in January. “My uncle Don had an accident 10 years ago. He’s a quadriplegic. My family’s had first-hand experience with this going down. I was so scared.”

Despite a grueling recovery process just to relearn how to walk, he returned to limited basketball activities in January and is now attempting a full return.

“It’s a remarkable comeback and a testament to all the hard work he’s put in,” his agent, Daniel Moldovan, told Windhorst.

Baynes, 35, last played in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors in the 2020-21 season, averaging 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 53 games (31 starts).

In his nine-year career with the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Raptors he’s posted six points and 4.6 rebounds per game, shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three.

Over his career, Baynes made a name for himself as a scrappy defender and rebounder who added range out to the three-point line later in his career, albeit to inconsistent results. He could be an intriguing option for contenders looking to add veteran depth at the center position.

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