Big man Bairstow announces retirement

After spending last season at the Adelaide 36ers, big man Cameron Bairstow has announced his retirement from basketball.

Bairstow retires at the age of 31, having had a distinguished college and professional career, across Australia, the USA and Lithuania.

He played a total of 74 games for Brisbane, Illawarra and most recently the Adelaide 36ers.

Perhaps his greatest achievement though was his two seasons in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls, lining up on 36 occasions from 2014 to 2016.

Thanks to @bheslehurst for the write up and for covering my career far more eloquently then I ever could and thanks to everyone who helped me throughout my basketball journey! Excited for the next chapter ?? https://t.co/krW2XvVd0l

— Cameron Bairstow (@cambairstow41) August 23, 2022

Bairstow represented Australia during both the 2014 FIBA Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics campaigns.

His retirement comes as somewhat of a surprise, having had a big impact with the 36ers in NBL 2021/2022. 

The power forward/center averaged more than 11 points and eight rebounds a game, but was sidelined late in the season with an ankle injury. 

 “(Retiring) was mainly due to the issues I’ve had with injuries, which continued to add up over the years, and a lot of the struggles I’ve had playing through them,” Bairstow told The Courier Mail.

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“The mental toll its had has taken away a lot of the joy that I get from playing.

“I had a bunch of surgeries in the off-season and didn’t quite get the results I was looking for.

“At that point it kind of reached the end of the line that I tried everything to get the body to where I wanted it to be and it wasn’t responding, so I had to make that decision.”

Click here for the full story >> ‘Taken away the joy’: Former NBA big man’s shock call on future