Aron Baynes opens up about his dreadful neck injury / News - Basketnews.com

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Aron Baynes is out since the Tokyo Olympics due to a serious neck injury, which he sustained in Australia's win over Italy in group play.

Aron Baynes

Position:CAge:35Height:208 cmWeight:123 kgBirth place:AustraliaProfileNewsStatistics

After almost 6 months, the Australian big man spoke to ESPN's Brian Windhorst and told, what exactly happened.

According to Baynes, he suffered a severe setback during the break between the 3rd and the 4th quarters, slipping on a tile floor in the locker room, near the bathroom.

Baynes was sprawled on the floor with blood on his uniform. He couldn't get himself up.

In the confusion of the moment, paramedics hadn't realized that Baynes had lost his ability to walk. He was urgently transferred to a Japanese hospital.

"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 admitted to Brian Windhorst.

Aussie remembered the pain was very sharp: "I couldn't cope. It was like a combination of burning, fire, knives. I needed the pain meds, but they knocked me out immediately."

On his 11th day in the hospital, Baynes was finally able to stand. After the Tokyo Olympics ended, a special medical plane to Brisbane was chartered for the 4,000-mile flight.

He stayed in the hometown hospital for nearly a month. He progressed each day, from wheelchair to walker to walking on his own. After a couple more months, he was finally able to run.

"If you saw me now, you wouldn't know anything happened. There's been a lot of progress in the last six months," Baynes stressed.

Baynes turned 35 during the forced break and his goal is to get back to the NBA next season.

Part of his drive to return to the strongest basketball league is because of how much he is enjoying the way NBA referees are calling the games this year. More physical play is being allowed, which favors his long-preferred style.

"It looks so much more fun now. That's how I grew up playing and I really want to get back to it," Baynes said. "I don't know what the path will look like, but I'm going to give it one hell of a crack."

Baynes spent the 2020-21 NBA season with the Toronto Raptors, averaging 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds over 53 games (31 starts). TheRaptors waived him on August 4, making him an unrestricted free agent.

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