Jason Collins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jason Collins

Collins with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014
Personal information
Born	(1978-12-02) December 2, 1978 (age 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
High school	Harvard-Westlake (Los Angeles, California)
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
College	Stanford (1997–2001)
NBA Draft	2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Pro career	2001–2014
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
Third-team All-American – NABC (2001) Pete Newell Big Man Award (2001) First-team All-Pac-10 (2001) Fourth-team Parade All-American (1997)
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,621 (3.6 ppg)
Rebounds	2,706 (3.7 rpg)
Assists	626 (0.9 apg)

Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, where he was an All-American in 2000–01. Collins was selected by the Houston Rockets as the 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft. He went on to play for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets.

After the 2012–13 NBA season concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay. He became a free 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 of four major North American pro sports leagues. In April 2014, Collins was featured on the cover of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Early life

Collins was born in Los Angeles, California, in the Northridge neighborhood. He was born eight minutes ahead of his twin brother Jarron, who also became an NBA player.

Both brothers graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. He and Jarron won two California 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. Collins was backed up by Jason Segel, who USA Today opined might have ended up being the most famous player from the team.

College career

Collins played at Stanford University with brother Jarron for the Cardinal in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). In 2001, Collins was named to All-Pac-10 first team, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) voted him to their third-team All-American team.

He finished his college career ranked first in Stanford history for field goal percentage (.608) and third in blocked shots (89).

Professional career

New Jersey Nets (2001–2008)

As a rookie along with Richard Jefferson, Collins played a significant role in the New Jersey Nets' first-ever NBA Finals berth in 2002 against the Los 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. He was measured 6 ft 10¼ in at the 2001 NBA combine.

In the 2002–03 NBA season Collins took over the starting center role for the Nets and helped the franchise back to the NBA Finals. During that season, Collins averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Prior to the 2004–05 season, he signed a $25 million contract extension with New Jersey for five more years.

Memphis Grizzlies (2008)

On February 4, 2008, Collins was traded along with cash considerations to the Memphis Grizzlies for Stromile Swift.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2008–2009)

On June 26, 2008, Collins was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal involving Kevin Love and O. J. Mayo.

Atlanta Hawks (2009–2012)

Collins signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 2, 2009. Collins re-signed with the Hawks in the 2010 offseason. In 2010–11, the fifth-seeded Hawks defeated the fourth-seeded Orlando Magic as Collins slowed the Magic's dominant center, Dwight Howard. After Game 4 in the series, then-Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called Collins' play "the best defense on [Howard] all year".

Boston Celtics (2012–2013)

Collins (right) and Celtics' teammate Jared Sullinger (left) defend Detroit's Greg Monroe

On July 31, 2012, Collins signed a contract with the Boston Celtics.

Washington Wizards (2013)

On February 21, 2013, Collins and Leandro Barbosa were traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Crawford.

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 four major North American professional team sports to publicly do so. Collins became a free agent in July 2013, and stated that he intended to pursue another contract. He was not invited by any team to training camp, but he worked out at his home waiting for an opportunity.

Return to the Nets (2014)

On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract to rejoin the Nets, who had since moved to Brooklyn. Nets coach Jason Kidd, who became good friends with Collins while teammates in New Jersey from 2001 to 2008, was an advocate of signing Collins. Collins played 11 minutes that night against the Lakers at the Staples Center, becoming the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues. Collins wore jersey 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. Collins chose to wear No. 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder was widely reported as a hate crime. 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 the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

Collins huddles with the Nets before playing the Washington Wizards in 2014

On March 5, 2014, Collins signed a second 10-day contract with the Nets. On March 15, 2014, Collins signed with the Nets for the rest of the season.

On November 19, 2014, Collins announced his retirement from professional basketball after 13 seasons in the NBA.

Player profile

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, the basketball analytics community valued his defense through measurements not typically found in a boxscore. Collins was a physical player defending the post, boxed out well, and excelled at setting screens. He was precise in executing coaches' defensive strategies, and he read the opponents' movements well and communicated on defense. He also had a reputation for being a team leader, and earned consistent praise for his professionalism and intelligence on the court.

Personal life

Collins was in an eight-year relationship with former WNBA center Carolyn Moos, and the two were engaged to be married, but Collins called off the wedding in 2009.

In the cover story of the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, a first person story by Collins with journalist Franz Lidz, and posted on the magazine's website on April 29, 2013, he came out as gay.

Since June 2014, Collins has been in a relationship with film producer Brunson Green.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards

On August 2, 2013, Collins was among the first class of inductees into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.

See also

In Spanish: Jason Collins para niños

• Michael Sam
• Gareth Thomas
• Homosexuality in sports
  • Homosexuality in sports in the United States
• List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sportspeople