Jason Collins

Jason Collins

Collins with the Nets in March 2014
Personal information
Born	(1978-12-02)December 2, 1978 Northridge, California, U.S.
Died	May 12, 2026(2026-05-12) (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
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 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	2001–2014
Position	Center
Number	34, 35, 98
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)
Blocks	359 (0.5 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jason Paul Collins (December 2, 1978 – May 12, 2026) was an American basketball player. He was a center for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Collins was openly gay during the final years of his career which made him the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues and the first openly gay basketball player in the NBA.

College

Collins played college basketball for Stanford University and was named to the All-Pac-10 first team in 2001.

NBA career

He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets with the 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.

He helped the Nets reach the NBA finals in 2001 but they were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers. He played 7 seasons with the Nets and he was traded with cash considerations to the Memphis Grizzlies for Stromile Swift. He played 31 games for the Grizzlies and then he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal involving Kevin Love and O. J. Mayo. When his contract expired at the end of the 2008–09 NBA season, the Timberwolves didn't re-sign him and he signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 2, 2009. He played 3 seasons with the Hawks and signed an undisclosed deal with the Boston Celtics. He was traded by the Celtics to the Washington Wizards on February 21, 2013 for Jordan Crawford.

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. He became the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues. In 2014, Collins was featured on the cover of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Personal life and death

His twin brother Jarron Collins also played in the NBA. On April 29, 2013, Collins wrote the cover story of Sports Illustrated in which he publicly come out as gay. He became the first active male professional athlete in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues to come out. He said that he chose the jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a victim of a gay hate crime in 1998. Collins said that the number was "a statement to myself, my family and my friends".

In September 2025, Collins was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He died from the disease on May 12, 2026 at his home in Los Angeles, California at the age of 47.

References

Other websites

• Jason Collins at NBA.com