Australian NBA champion Aron Baynes has announced his retirement from professional basketball.

After spending the past few seasons in the NBL, the 37-year-old has called time on his career ahead of the 2024/25 season.

The New Zealand-born but Queensland-raised big man will go down as one of the greatest centres to come out of Australia, having represented the Boomers at three Olympics and three World Cups

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Baynes is one of only three Australian players to win an NBA championship and an Olympic medal, having played in the Boomers’ bronze medal-winning Tokyo Games campaign and being part the 2013/14 championship with San Antonio Spurs in his first full season as an NBA player, alongside fellow Aussie Patty Mills.

Baynes played 576 games across nine seasons in the NBA and previously held the record for most three-pointers in an NBA game by a centre, scoring nine in 2020 for Phoenix, but his mark was surpassed by Karl-Anthony Towns last season.

A serious spinal injury suffered at the Tokyo Games threatened his career after he was found in the team’s locker room.

Initially unable to walk following the incident, Baynes spent months in hospital, before returning to the court with the Bullets from 2022.

Baynes had seen his minutes cut in the final year of his deal and opted to retire.

Speaking to ESPN recently, he hinted that his time in the game might be over but did not confirm it.

“I’m not labelling anything,” Baynes told ESPN.

“My body feels good. I love playing the game. It’s just, right now, I’m focused on my family and being there with my kids. Just being dad right now. Just enjoying not having to be anywhere at any particular time, apart from school drop off and school pickup.

“Right now, nothing labelled; just, body feels really good, though, I’m moving well. We’ll just see how it goes.”

Baynes’ agent Daniel Moldovan paid tribute to the big man on social media.

“You embody everything that we preach to young athletes about professionalism, dedication and playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not on the back,” he wrote.