Vincent Lamont Baker is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games. As of 2019, Baker serves as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
During Baker's inaugural season in 1989, he averaged on 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, which earned him a place on the North Atlantic Conference All-Rookie Team. Named a starter for his sophomore season, Baker averaged 19.7 ppg and 10.4 rpg and a first team All-NAC spot. As a junior, Baker averaged 27.6 ppg, 9.9 rpg, and 3.7 blocks per game, though the team finished with an abysmal 6-21 record. Entering his final season, Baker was called "America's Best-Kept Secret" by Sports Illustrated and the conference's most dominant player since Reggie Lewis by Street & Smith's College/Prep Basketball Preview in 1992. Baker averaged 28.3 ppg and finished with 792 points in only 28 games, a conference record that still remains in the NAC. He finished with 2,238 points, a school record that still stands. However, Baker was not able to translate his immense scoring abilities into team success, as none of his teams ever made the NCAA tournament, and the best his Hartford teams ever finished in a season was.500. Baker's jersey hangs on the east wall of Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion.
NBA career
Milwaukee Bucks
After a college career at the University of Hartford, not far from where he grew up in Old Saybrook, Baker was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 8th pick of the 1993 NBA draft. He played four seasons in Milwaukee.
After four years in Seattle, Baker was traded to the Boston Celtics with Shammond Williams for Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko and Joseph Forte. While his career averages include 15.1 points per game, his numbers had dropped considerably in the twenty-first century. 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.
Baker signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 1, 2006, reuniting him with head coach Dwane Casey, who served as an assistant coach when Baker was in Seattle. His tenure in Minnesota would be short-lived, though. Baker was released from the Timberwolves on November 13, 2006. He never played in a regular season game after being on the inactive list for the first six games.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Other endeavors
Baker has a non-profit foundation called the Stand Tall Foundation. The Stand Tall Foundation is an organization that helps give kids a better future by financially assisting with different charitable and volunteer organizations. The goal of the Stand Tall Foundation is to help young people with their education, personal development and general well-being. On June 3, 2011, Baker was hired as an assistant high school boys basketball coach at St. Bernard School in Uncasville, Connecticut. In 2014, Baker was named to a team assembled by Dennis Rodman as part of his "basketball diplomacy" effort in North Korea; the team was assembled to play an exhibition game against the North Korean Senior National Team to celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong-un. As of December 2015, Baker was managing a Starbucks location in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Baker later became Fox Sports Milwaukee's home team broadcaster. In 2017, Baker became the head of the basketball department at Camp Greylock. As of 2019, Baker serves as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. On July 18, 2020, The Vin Baker Foundation hosted a 5k run called "Addiction Ends Here".
Personal life
Baker's mother is Jean Baker. His father, Rev. James Baker, is an auto mechanic and Baptist minister. Baker has a wife and four children. On June 19, 2007, Baker was arrested in Norwich, Connecticut for drunk driving after leaving Foxwoods Resort Casino. On June 21, 2008 ml-implode.com reported that Baker's Durham, Connecticut home was foreclosed and put up for sale for $2.3 million. The house was purchased by U.S. Bank for $2.5 million at an auction on June 28, 2008. Baker reportedly lost over $100 million due to financial troubles. Baker has struggled with depression and alcoholism. In 2013, the New York Daily News reported that he had stopped drinking alcohol on April 17, 2011.
