By Dan Woods - NBL Media
Photo: Brisbane Bullets Media
Aron Baynes has wasted no time making his presence felt at the Brisbane Bullets.
The former NBA star and Australian Boomer is already raising the standard at practice, according to coach James Duncan.
Baynes, who most recently played in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors, boasts a remarkable who's who of NBA sides on his CV, having spent time with San Antonio, Boston and Detroit, among others.
He's returned to Australia with visions of earning another NBA opportunity, after the horrific back injury he suffered at the Tokyo Olympics.
<html><head></head><body><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBL</a> season is not far away and <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> coach James Duncan gives us an insight into the signing of superstar <a href="https://twitter.com/aronbaynes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aronbaynes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SENQLD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SENQLD</a> <a href="https://t.co/G3LhprHxbf">https://t.co/G3LhprHxbf</a> <a href="https://t.co/QrQnfwVJbF">pic.twitter.com/QrQnfwVJbF</a></p>— Pat&HealsSEN (@PatandHealsSEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatandHealsSEN/status/1561833616727949312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></body></html>
“Baynes’ resume speaks for itself, (an NBA) championship and a bronze medal with the Boomers … our standard is higher now, our expectation is higher now,” Duncan told SEN.
“There’s a way to conduct business and the right way to go about that. It’s an exciting time.
“Adding two guys of the calibre of Baynes and ‘TJ’ (Tyler Johnson) to the team really lifts us up … everyone is up and about right now.”
<html><head></head><body><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en">No time for jet lag ?<br><br>Tyler got straight to work with the boys today on home court. <a href="https://t.co/LQ6gh2tcs1">pic.twitter.com/LQ6gh2tcs1</a></p>— Brisbane Bullets (@BrisbaneBullets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/1560190995685609472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></body></html>
The long and arduous road Baynes has taken to return to the court has been well documented, with the big man losing the ability to walk in the early days of his injury layoff.
Since his return though, Duncan says Baynes has blessed his squad with an even greater love of the game.
“When things like that happen you have an appreciation for the job you do, because it’s almost taken away from you way too early,” Duncan said.
“Now when he’s practicing and playing ... the joy on his face and the competitiveness, everybody feels it and everybody sees it.
“He just wants to have another crack at it and have an opportunity [to return to the NBA], but also build something here with the Bullets because this is his home. The city of Brisbane is his home now and he wants to do something special here.
“He's just excited about playing.”
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While Baynes and Johnson are the two highest profile additions to the Bullets' side, the impending return from injury of star Nathan Sobey will make him seem almost like a new recruit.
Sobey was also part of the Boomers’ bronze medal winning squad, earning his place off the back of a top three finish in the NBL MVP race in the 2021 season.
However, a knee injury restricted his 2021/2022 campaign to just 12 appearances.
“We’re still waiting for ‘Sobes’ to get back to his normal, peak self,” Duncan said.
“He had surgery on that [knee] and now he’s working his way back. He’s on the floor, he’s doing a little bit of individual basketball workouts. It was just taking time for the knee to heal appropriately.
“He’s such a huge part of what we do ... two years ago he was in the top three for MVP voting and then he played less than half our games last season, so that affected us.
“How he puts the ball in the basketball, the gravity he pulls towards himself because everybody pays so much attention to him, he just makes everyone else’s job easier.
“You can imagine how anxious I am to have him back on the floor.”
