Collins was an elite defensive player, especially during his eight seasons with the Nets.
Longtime NBA big man Jason Collins, who made league history in 2014 when he became the sport’s first openly gay player, passed away on Tuesday after battling brain cancer.
The 47-year-old Collins announced last fall that he’d been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma. He received treatment in Singapore and returned stateside earlier this year, attending NBA All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles in February.
“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar,” Collins’ family said in a statement.
Collins played 13 seasons in the NBA, spending most of that time with the Nets, both before and after their move to Brooklyn.
The Nets had not officially commented on Collins’ death as of publication.
Houston selected Collins No. 18 in 2001 and included him in a draft-night trade for Nets forward Eddie Griffin. What Collins lacked in scoring, he more than made up for in defense. He averaged 2.8 defensive win shares through his first six seasons.
The Nets traded Collins to the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2008 for fellow big man Stromile Swift. That move began the dismantling of the Nets’ then-veteran core; All-Star Jason Kidd was traded to the Dallas Mavericks later that month, and the Nets dealt Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee in June.
Collins spent the next few years bouncing around the league as a backup center, spending three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
Then came April 2013, when Collins stunned the sports world by coming out as gay in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“When I did come out publicly, it was interesting, it was very rare, but I got back-to-back calls from Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama,” Collins told ESPN last November.
Collins recalled Obama telling him, “‘Congratulations — what you’ve done today will have a positive impact on someone you might not ever meet in your lifetime.’”
Kidd and Collins reunited nearly a year later, when the Nets — then in their second season in Brooklyn — signed Collins as veteran depth. The partnership was different this time around, as Kidd was in his first and only season coaching the Nets.
Collins did everything the Nets needed him to do, averaging 1.1 points and 0.9 rebounds over Brooklyn’s next 22 games. He did not see action that postseason.
With his playing career winding down, Collins retired later that year and transitioned into an ambassador role with the NBA.
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Tuesday.
Roundtable Sports sends its condolences to Collins’ loved ones.
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