Jason Collins
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| Player information | ||
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| Full name | Jason Paul Collins | |
| birthday | 2nd December 1978 | |
| place of birth | Northridge , California , United States | |
| size | 213 cm | |
| Weight | 116 kg | |
| position | center | |
| college | Stanford | |
| NBA draft | 2001 , 18th pick, Houston Rockets | |
| Clubs as active | ||
2001–2007 New Jersey Nets 2007 Memphis Grizzlies 2007–2009 Minnesota Timberwolves 2009–2011 Atlanta Hawks 2012–2013 Boston Celtics 2013 Washington Wizards 2014 Brooklyn Nets
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Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge , California ) is a retired American basketball player who was active in the NBA from 2001 to 2014 .
He is the first professional athlete in the four major US professional leagues (NBA, Major League Baseball , National Football League , National Hockey League ) to announce his homosexuality during his career .
Collins is the twin brother of Jarron Collins , who was also an NBA professional.
NBA career
Collins was selected 18th in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets . The Rockets exchanged him directly with his future teammates Richard Jefferson (13th pick) and Brandon Armstrong (23rd pick) to the New Jersey Nets to sign Eddie Griffin (7th pick). In Byron Scott's team , led by point guard Jason Kidd , Collins played his way into the rotation as a backup of the Todd MacCulloch center and power forward Kenyon Martin .
The Nets reached the NBA Finals in both 2002 and 2003 , but failed against the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs . Collins started in all six games against the Spurs, but could not stop his opponent Tim Duncan . In the following years, Collins established himself as a regular center, but without being statistically significant: with the Nets he achieved top scores of 6.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game and was mainly in demand because of his solid defensive work.
In 2007, Collins moved to the Memphis Grizzlies , but could not prevail against Pau Gasol and Darko Miličić and was exchanged after only 31 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves , who soon gave him up to the Atlanta Hawks .
In the team around Swingman Joe Johnson , Collins established himself as a backup for center Zaza Pachulia and played there for three years until he joined the Boston Celtics in 2012 , which exchanged him for the Washington Wizards after 32 games .
In February 2014, Collins returned to the Nets, which are now based in Brooklyn. There he first signed a 10-day contract, which was then extended again for 10 days, and then converted into a contract until the end of the season.
For the following season, Collins did not get any more contract offers and after 13 years as a professional he announced his retirement from competitive sports.
Private life
Collins was in a relationship with basketball player Carolyn Moos for eight years and became engaged to her before ending the relationship in 2009.
On April 29, 2013, Collins made his homosexuality known; so he became the first professional athlete in the four major US professional leagues (NBA, Major League Baseball , National Football League , National Hockey League ), who during his career outed .
His coming out was generally well received: his brother Jarron, US President Barack Obama , NBA President David Stern , NBA stars like Kobe Bryant , Dwyane Wade or Steve Nash , current Wizards teammates like John Wall , Emeka Okafor or Martell Webster , former companions like Jason Kidd , Zaza Pachulia and Doc Rivers praised Collins for his actions.
Collins also revealed that his # 98 jersey number (which he has been wearing since 2012) is in memory of Matthew Shepard , who was killed in an anti-gay homicide in 1998.
Web links
- Jason Collins - player profile on NBA.com
- Jason Collins - player profile on basketball-reference.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Nets Sign Jason Collins to 10-Day Contract
- ↑ Jason Collins to retire from NBA. ESPN , November 21, 2014, accessed December 6, 2014 .
- ↑ NBA's Jason Collins' former fiancée Carolyn Moos says gay announcement 'a lot to process'. In: The Toronto Star , May 5, 2013 (English)
- ↑ Jason Collins says he's gay. In: ESPN , April 30, 2013 (English).
- ↑ First active US professional to profess homosexuality. In: Spiegel Online , April 29, 2013.
- ↑ Reaction to Jason Collins' announcement. In: ESPN , April 30, 2013 (English).
- ↑ Jason Collins, Franz Lidz: Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now . In: Sports Illustrated , April 29, 2013.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Collins, Jason |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Collins, Jason Paul (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd December 1978 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Northridge (Los Angeles) , USA |