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Knicks news: Ron Baker officially retires from the NBA

James Foglio Sports Editor

Updated15 Oct 2021

Former New York Knicks shooting guard Ron Baker has officially retired from the NBA. The 28-year-old from Wichita State went undrafted in 2016. Baker signed a contract with the Knicks on August 1, 2016. Then, he made his NBA debut on October 25, 2016 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the team’s 117-88 loss, Baker scored five points in seven minutes played. In 96 games played in his professional career, he averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. The guard averaged a career field goal shooting percentage of 35.8 percent, and he also shot 26.5 percent from three-point range.

On December 15, 2016, in the Knicks’ 103-90 loss against the Golden State Warriors, he scored a career-high 13 points. His first career game as a starter was on January 16, 2017, when the Knicks played the Atlanta Hawks. However, after scoring 12 points in 22 minutes, New York lost the game 108-107. The Kansas native signed a multi-year contract worth almost $9 million on the first day of free agency in 2017. The guard also played for the Westchester Knicks in the D-League (now G League).

While playing aggressive defense against the New Orleans Pelicans, on December 30, 2017, Baker suffered a broken left orbital bone while guarding Anthony Davis. A couple of months later, he missed the remainder of the season after undergoing right-shoulder surgery. The guard was later waived by the Knicks on December 13, 2018.

Before the 2018-19 season, he signed a minimum-salary contract with the Washington Wizards. He earned $170,915 in his final NBA season. On January 7, 2019, Baker was waived by the Wizards. He only appeared in four games for the team. For the 2019-20 season, he played for the PBC CSKA Moscow, a professional basketball team of the VTB United League based in Moscow, Russia. In an episode of Inside TBT, he informed viewers that he underwent hip surgery while playing in Europe.

Life after basketball

Ron Baker might be remembered as the player Anthony Davis dunked on, leading to a significant bone injury sustained to his face afterwards. However, he had the chance of a lifetime to live his dream as a professional basketball player. Nowadays, he is all set to begin working as a project manager at Ascension Via Christi’s strategy and business development department.

His first day on the job is August 30th. Before his new job, he worked as the general manager of AfterShocks, a TBT team that consists mostly of Wichita State basketball alumni. Per sources, Baker is also a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a Native American tribe in the state of Oklahoma.