By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images/File
Jason Collins, the league’s first openly gay active player, died yesterday at the age of 47 following a long battle with brain cancer.
Collins had been battling with an aggressive brain tumor for eight months. Collins had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, which has an extremely low survival rate.
Before playing 13 NBA seasons, Collins attended Stanford University, where he played for his entire collegiate career (1997-2001). At Stanford, he made First-Team All-Pac-10 and won the Pete Newell Big Man Award. In addition, he received other honors, including being named a McDonald’s All-American in 1997.
His senior year was his best season at Stanford. Collins posted a career high in points (14.4) and rebounds (7.8). Collins helped Stanford win the Pac-10 championship and reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Stanford lost to Maryland 87-73.
On draft night, Collins was selected as the 18th overall pick in the first round. Collins, alongside Richard Jefferson, joined the New Jersey Nets (now known as the Brooklyn Nets) as rookies and enjoyed immediate success. The Nets won 52 games during the 2001-2002 season and made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.
Collins spent his first seven seasons with the Nets, and he returned to the Nets in his final season in 2014. He also made stops with the Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards. He retired in 2014. Collins made nine playoff seasons out of 13. He finishes his career with 735 games (starting in 477), averaging 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
In 2013, Collins revealed his sexuality in an article on Sports Illustrated.
The NBA held silence for Collins and for Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, who died on Tuesday at the age of 29. Former coaches and teammates are heartbroken over the news of their passing.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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