Vin Baker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vincent (Vin) Lamont Baker (born November 23, 1971 in Lake Wales, Florida) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA, currently a free agent.

Men's Basketball
Olympic medal record
Gold	Sydney 2000	United States

After a college career at the University of Hartford, not far from where he grew up in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Baker was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 8th pick of the 1993 NBA Draft. After four seasons with the Bucks, he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. During the mid 1990s, he appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games before his career was derailed by alcoholism. While his career averages include 15.1 points per game, his numbers have dropped considerably in recent years. After the 1998-99 NBA lockout season, Baker's weight ballooned to near 300 pounds and his game suffered tremendously. While Baker was able to get his weight down to around 250, Baker revealed that he was a recovering alcoholic who used to binge in hotel rooms and at home after playing poorly. In an interview in the Boston Globe, Baker said Celtics coach Jim O'Brien smelled alcohol on him in practice and confronted him about it. The team suspended him and he was eventually released.

He was released by the Houston Rockets on October 7, 2005.

Besides the Bucks, and Rockets, Baker has played for the Seattle SuperSonics, the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Baker signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 1, 2006, reuniting him with head coach Dwane Casey, who served as an assistant coach when Vin was in Seattle.

Baker was released from the Timberwolves on, November 13th. He did not play for the team being on the injured list for all 6 regular season games he was listed on the team.^[1]

Baker was also a morning show DJ of Houston-based radio station KPTY-FM (Party 104.9) and has opened a seafood restaurant featuring Seafood by chef Todd Curtis in his hometown of Old Saybrook.^{[citation needed]}

2000 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball