This is an accepted version of this page
 Collins with theBrooklyn Nets in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1978-12-02)December 2, 1978 (age 46) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles, California) |
| College | Stanford (1997–2001) |
| NBA draft | 2001: 1st round, 18th overall pick |
| Selected by theHouston Rockets | |
| Playing career | 2001–2014 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 35, 34, 98, 46 |
| Career history | |
| 2001–2008 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2008 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2008–2009 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2009–2012 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2012–2013 | Boston Celtics |
| 2013 | Washington Wizards |
| 2014 | Brooklyn Nets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,621 (3.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 2,706 (3.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 626 (0.9 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978) is an American former professionalbasketball player who was acenter for 13 seasons in theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He playedcollege basketball for theStanford Cardinal, where he was anAll-American in 2000–01. Collins was selected by theHouston Rockets as the 18th overall pick in the2001 NBA draft.[1] He went on to play for theNew Jersey Nets,Memphis Grizzlies,Minnesota Timberwolves,Atlanta Hawks,Boston Celtics,Washington Wizards andBrooklyn Nets.
After the 2012–13 NBA season concluded, Collins publiclycame out as gay.[2] He became afree agent and did not play again until February 2014, when he signed with the Nets and became the first publicly gay athlete to play in any offour major North American pro sports leagues.[3] In April 2014, Collins was featured on the cover ofTime Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".[4]
Collins was born inLos Angeles,California, in theNorthridge neighborhood. He was born eight minutes ahead of his twin brotherJarron, who also became an NBA player.[5][6]
Both brothers graduated fromHarvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles.[7] He and Jarron won twoCalifornia Interscholastic Federation state titles during their four-year careers with a combined record of 123–10. Collins broke the California career rebounding record with 1,500.[8][9] Collins was backed up byJason Segel, whoUSA Today opined might have ended up being the most famous player from the team.[10]
Collins played atStanford University with brother Jarron for theCardinal in thePacific-10 Conference (Pac-10).[5][11] In 2001, Collins was named toAll-Pac-10 first team,[12] and theNational Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) voted him to their third-teamAll-American team.[13]
He finished his college career ranked first in Stanford history forfield goal percentage (.608) and third inblocked shots (89).[14]
As a rookie along withRichard Jefferson, Collins played a significant role in theNew Jersey Nets' first-everNBA Finals berth in2002 against theLos Angeles Lakers. During this Finals appearance, Collins acknowledged that he is not really 7 feet tall as he has been listed since his junior year of college.[15] He was measured 6 ft 10¼ in at the 2001 NBA combine.[16]
In the2002–03 NBA season Collins took over the starting center role for the Nets and helped the franchise back to the NBA Finals.[17] During that season, Collins averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Prior to the2004–05 season, he signed a $25 million contract extension with New Jersey for five more years.[18]
On February 4, 2008, Collins was traded along with cash considerations to theMemphis Grizzlies forStromile Swift.[19]
On June 26, 2008, Collins was dealt to theMinnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal involvingKevin Love andO. J. Mayo.[20]
Collins signed with theAtlanta Hawks on September 2, 2009.[21] Collins re-signed with the Hawks in the 2010 offseason.[22] In2010–11, the fifth-seeded Hawks defeated the fourth-seededOrlando Magic as Collins slowed the Magic's dominant center,Dwight Howard. After Game 4 in the series, then-Orlando coachStan Van Gundy called Collins' play "the best defense on [Howard] all year".[23]
On July 31, 2012, Collins signed a contract with theBoston Celtics.[24][25]
On February 21, 2013, Collins andLeandro Barbosa were traded to theWashington Wizards in exchange forJordan Crawford.[26][27]
On April 29, 2013, after the season had already concluded,Collins publicly came out as gay, becoming the first active male athlete from one of the fourmajor North American professional team sports to publicly do so.[28][29] Collins became a free agent in July 2013, and stated that he intended to pursue another contract.[30] He was not invited by any team to training camp, but he worked out at his home waiting for an opportunity.[29][31]
On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract to rejoin the Nets, who had since moved to Brooklyn.[32] Nets coachJason Kidd, who became good friends with Collins while teammates in New Jersey from 2001 to 2008, was an advocate of signing Collins.[31][33] Collins played 11 minutes that night against the Lakers at theStaples Center, becoming the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.[34][35][36] Collins worejersey number 46 (the only number the team had available at the time) in his first game of the season, but planned to wear No. 98—the same number he wore with Boston and Washington—going forward.[31] Collins chose to wear No. 98 in honor ofMatthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder was widely reported as ahate crime and ultimately led to the passage of theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[37] Collins' jersey rose to the top spot for sales in the NBA's online shop, and the NBA announced that proceeds from the sales, as well as proceeds from auctions of Collins' autographed game-worn jerseys, would benefit theMatthew Shepard Foundation, and theGay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).[37]
On March 5, 2014, Collins signed a second 10-day contract with the Nets.[38][39] On March 15, 2014, Collins signed with the Nets for the rest of the season.[40]
On November 19, 2014, Collins announced his retirement from professional basketball after 13 seasons in the NBA.[41][42][43]
Collins had low career averages in the NBA of 3.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, and 41 percent shooting from the field, and never averaged more than seven points or seven rebounds in a season. However, thebasketball analytics community valued his defense through measurements not typically found in aboxscore. Collins was a physical player defending thepost,boxed out well, and excelled at settingscreens.[23] He was precise in executing coaches' defensive strategies, and he read the opponents' movements well and communicated on defense.[31] He also had a reputation for being a team leader, and earned consistent praise for his professionalism and intelligence on the court.[23][31]
Collins was in an eight-year relationship with former WNBA centerCarolyn Moos,[44] and the two were engaged to be married, but Collins called off the wedding in 2009.[45][46]
In the cover story of the May 6, 2013 issue ofSports Illustrated, afirst person story by Collins with journalistFranz Lidz,[47][48] and posted on the magazine's website on April 29, 2013, hecame out as gay, becoming the first active male athlete from one of the fourmajor North American professional team sports to publicly do so.[28][49][50] He wrote that he wished to maintain his privacy in regard to specific details of his personal life, and that he is not in a relationship. Collins also said a "notorious antigay hate crime", the murder ofMatthew Shepard in 1998, led him to choose "98" for hisjersey number, in Shepard's honor. Collins called the number "a statement to myself, my family and my friends."[51]
Following his announcement, Collins has received high praise and support for deciding to publicly reveal that he is gay.[49] FellowNBA starKobe Bryant praised his decision, as did others from around the league, includingNBA commissionerDavid Stern.[49]PresidentBarack Obama,First LadyMichelle Obama, former presidentBill Clinton, and Collins' corporate sponsorNike were also among those offering their praise and support for Collins.[49] However,ESPN basketball analystChris Broussard stated that he did not believe that Collins can "live an openly homosexual lifestyle" and be a Christian,[49] but thought that Collins "displayed bravery with his announcement".[52] Collins, a Christian, responded by saying "This is all about tolerance and acceptance and America is the best country in the world because we're all entitled to our opinions and beliefs but we don't have to agree. And obviously I don't agree with his statement."[53]The Guardian called it significant forLGBTQ acceptance "as professional sports had long been seen as the final frontier."[54] Given the interest in major league team sports in the United States,The Christian Science Monitor wrote that Collins' announcement was "likely to put wind in the sails of this trend" of acceptance ofgay rights in U.S. public opinion.[50] Formertennis playerMartina Navratilova, who came out as alesbian in 1981, called Collins a "game-changer" for team sports, which she referred to as one of the last areas wherehomophobia remained.[55][56]
Collins' former fiancée, Carolyn Moos, expressed conflicted feelings and said she only learned Collins was gay shortly before theSports Illustrated cover story.[45][57]
On the day it was released, theSports Illustrated story drew a record 3.7 million visitors to the magazine's website, SI.com.[45]
The New York Times called his 2014 signing with Brooklyn "perhaps basketball’s most celebrated and scrutinized 10-day contract." His No. 98 jersey became the top seller on the NBA's online store.[58]
Since June 2014, Collins has been in a relationship with film producerBrunson Green.[59][60][61]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | New Jersey | 77 | 9 | 18.3 | .421 | .500 | .701 | 3.9 | 1.1 | .4 | .6 | 4.5 |
| 2002–03 | New Jersey | 81 | 66 | 23.5 | .414 | .000 | .763 | 4.5 | 1.1 | .6 | .5 | 5.7 |
| 2003–04 | New Jersey | 78 | 78 | 28.5 | .424 | .000 | .739 | 5.1 | 2.0 | .9 | .7 | 5.9 |
| 2004–05 | New Jersey | 80 | 80 | 31.8 | .412 | .333 | .656 | 6.1 | 1.3 | .9 | .9 | 6.4 |
| 2005–06 | New Jersey | 71 | 70 | 26.7 | .397 | .250 | .512 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .6 | .6 | 3.6 |
| 2006–07 | New Jersey | 80 | 78 | 23.1 | .364 | .000 | .465 | 4.0 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 2.1 |
| 2007–08 | New Jersey | 43 | 23 | 15.9 | .426 | — | .389 | 2.1 | .4 | .3 | .2 | 1.4 |
| 2007–08 | Memphis | 31 | 3 | 15.7 | .508 | .000 | .526 | 2.9 | .2 | .4 | .5 | 2.6 |
| 2008–09 | Minnesota | 31 | 22 | 13.6 | .314 | — | .464 | 2.3 | .4 | .3 | .4 | 1.8 |
| 2009–10 | Atlanta | 24 | 0 | 4.8 | .348 | .000 | .000 | .6 | .2 | .1 | .1 | .7 |
| 2010–11 | Atlanta | 49 | 28 | 12.1 | .479 | 1.000 | .659 | 2.1 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 2.0 |
| 2011–12 | Atlanta | 30 | 10 | 10.3 | .400 | — | .467 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 1.3 |
| 2012–13 | Boston | 32 | 7 | 10.3 | .348 | — | .700 | 1.6 | .2 | .3 | .2 | 1.2 |
| 2012–13 | Washington | 6 | 2 | 9.0 | .167 | — | 1.000 | 1.3 | .3 | .3 | .7 | .7 |
| 2013–14 | Brooklyn | 22 | 1 | 7.8 | .458 | .000 | .750 | 0.9 | .2 | .4 | .0 | 1.1 |
| Career | 735 | 477 | 20.4 | .411 | .206 | .647 | 3.7 | .9 | .5 | .5 | 3.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | New Jersey | 17 | 0 | 13.4 | .364 | — | .658 | 2.4 | .4 | .3 | .4 | 2.9 |
| 2003 | New Jersey | 20 | 20 | 26.5 | .363 | .000 | .836 | 6.3 | .9 | .7 | .6 | 5.9 |
| 2004 | New Jersey | 11 | 11 | 24.2 | .368 | — | .750 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .3 | .9 | 3.6 |
| 2005 | New Jersey | 4 | 4 | 32.0 | .235 | — | .375 | 6.5 | .3 | .5 | .0 | 2.8 |
| 2006 | New Jersey | 11 | 11 | 27.5 | .360 | — | .591 | 5.0 | .3 | .5 | .2 | 2.8 |
| 2007 | New Jersey | 12 | 12 | 27.4 | .571 | — | .364 | 3.3 | .2 | .6 | .3 | 2.3 |
| 2010 | Atlanta | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | .600 | — | — | 1.7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2011 | Atlanta | 12 | 9 | 13.2 | .643 | — | .375 | 1.4 | .1 | .4 | .3 | 1.8 |
| 2012 | Atlanta | 5 | 4 | 17.0 | .545 | — | — | 2.4 | .0 | .2 | .0 | 2.4 |
| Career | 95 | 71 | 21.4 | .400 | .000 | .677 | 3.8 | .5 | .4 | .4 | 3.3 | |
On August 2, 2013, Collins was among the first class of inductees into theNational Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.[62][63]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
