Australian NBA star’s COVID-19 nightmare: Aron Baynes reveals his pain and fear after testing positive and spreading the virus to his wife and young children
- Aron Baynes has described his pain and fear after testing positive for COVID-19
- The potentially deadly coronavirus also spread to his wife and young children
- His adopted home state of Arizona has become a COVID-19 hotspot in the US
- Baynes is hoping he will be able to rejoin his team mates when he is cleared
Australian basketball star Aron Baynes has described the pain and fear he felt after testing positive for COVID-19 and then discovering the potentially deadly virus had spread to his wife and young children.
The Phoenix Suns centre tested positive at his home in Arizona more than 30 days ago, but under the NBA’s strict coronavirus protocols he is yet to be cleared to rejoin the league’s player’s ‘bubble’ in Orlando, Florida.
Baynes told The Athletic on Wednesday, the virus hit him hard and he immediately isolated himself in a section of his home.
Australian basketball star Aron Baynes is pictured with his wife Rachel Adekponya
Australian Boomer Aron Baynes is pictured with the ball in a match against the USA at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, 2019
His doting wife Rachel had to leave food outside the door for him.
‘It actually put me on my butt for a good week,’ the 6ft 10in 33-year-old said.
‘I slept for four days straight.’
His biggest fear was spreading the virus to his wife and two young children, but that soon became a reality.
Their symptoms, however, were not as severe.
‘That was the scariest time for me because I was also putting my family at risk at that point,’ Baynes, the two-time Olympian said.
The Phoenix Suns centre tested positive to coronavirus at his home in Arizona more than 30 days ago
Baynes is pictured playing for the Phoenix Suns in a match against the Dallas Mavericks in 2019
‘They were exposed to it at a later point so they didn’t get it at the same time as me.’
His adopted home state of Arizona has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic in the US and remains a coronvirus hotspot with an infection rate in excess of most entire nations.
There have been over 150,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Arizona including 2,974 deaths.
Baynes urged people to wear masks in public to prevent the spread of the virus.
‘My family is all testing negative now, but I am still not,’ he said.
Pictured: Baynes attends the 2018 NBA Awards Show at Barker Hangar in California on in 2018
Baynes biggest fear was spreading the virus to his wife and two young children and that soon became a reality. But their symptoms, were not as severe
‘I have antibodies so am not contagious, but I still need those negatives because that is the criteria the NBA has set up.’
The Suns play a scrimmage against Joe Ingles’ Utah Jazz on Thursday in Orlando and his team’s first regular season game is against the Washington Wizards on July 31.
But Baynes has not touched a basketball in more than 30 days and only had his first high-intensity workout involving sprints on Wednesday at his home.
‘I’m contained within the four walls of my house, but I am doing everything I can on a daily basis to get ready,’ Baynes said.
‘As soon as we get the two negative tests I’ll get on a plane to Orlando as quick as I can and be a part of the group again.’
There have been over 150,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases including 2,974 deaths in the Baynes’ home state of Arizona
Baynes (pictured with his wife) has urged people to wear masks in public to prevent the spread of the virus