41Cameron Bairstow is a retired Australian basketball forward-centre who played college basketball at New Mexico, was selected 49th overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2014 NBA Draft and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The supplied provider data matches the athlete: NBA, provider ID 2089, Chicago Bulls, inactive, New Mexico.
Cameron David Bairstow was born on 7 December 1990 in Brisbane, Queensland. A late-developing Australian forward-centre, he progressed through the Australian Institute of Sport before accepting one of only a small number of United States college scholarship opportunities available to him. Bairstow played for the University of New Mexico from 2010 to 2014, developing into a productive interior scorer and rebounder in the Mountain West Conference.
His senior college season produced his first major individual breakthrough. Bairstow was named First-team All-Mountain West and Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP in 2014, helping establish him as an NBA prospect. The Chicago Bulls selected him with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft, making him one of the few Australians selected in NBA history at that time.
Bairstow spent two NBA seasons with Chicago, appearing in 36 regular-season games. He was a physical, defence-oriented big man whose role centred on screening, rebounding, interior play and energy off the bench. He also played in the NBA G League during this period. In June 2016, Chicago traded him to the Detroit Pistons, although his time with Detroit did not lead to a substantial NBA playing role.
Internationally, Bairstow won silver with Australia at the 2013 Summer Universiade and helped the Boomers win the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship. He was selected for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016. His defining Olympic performance came against China, when he scored 17 points and collected nine rebounds in 19 minutes. Bairstow played in Australia's first five Rio matches before an injury in the group-stage game against Venezuela ended his tournament.
After his NBA period, Bairstow returned to the NBL with the Brisbane Bullets. A serious left knee injury sustained during the 2016–17 season required an extended recovery and caused him to miss the entire following season. He later played in Lithuania for Rytas Vilnius, returned to the NBL with the Illawarra Hawks and finished his playing career with the Adelaide 36ers. On 23 August 2022, he announced his retirement, citing the cumulative impact of injuries, rehabilitation and playing while injured. As at 18 August 2026, he is not an active NBA player; the Chicago Bulls inactive listing is historical provider status rather than a current roster position.
Bairstow's first major breakthrough was his 2013–14 senior season at the University of New Mexico, when he became a leading Lobo, won Mountain West Conference Tournament MVP and earned First-team All-Mountain West recognition. His subsequent selection by the Chicago Bulls with pick 49 in the 2014 NBA Draft was his professional breakthrough.
NBA career: 36 regular-season games, averaging 1.2 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.2 assists per game according to NBA.com. College: First-team All-Mountain West and Mountain West Tournament MVP in 2014. International: 2013 Summer Universiade silver medallist, 2013 FIBA Oceania champion and 2016 Australian Olympic representative.
His most notable international performance was at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games against China, when he scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 19 minutes. He also became one of the few Australians selected in the NBA Draft when Chicago chose him 49th overall in 2014.