The basketball world mourns the loss of Jason Collins, who broke barriers as the NBA’s first openly gay athlete and later became a leading voice for diversity in professional sports. Collins passed away Tuesday at age 47 after battling Stage 4 glioblastoma for eight months, his family confirmed.
The center played professional basketball for 13 seasons across six different teams. In 2013, near the conclusion of his playing days, Collins made the groundbreaking decision to publicly share his sexual orientation.
Doctors had diagnosed Collins with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with very poor survival odds.
“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 released through the NBA. “We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
Recently, Collins was honored with the first-ever Bill Walton Global Champion Award during the Green Sports Alliance Summit. Due to his deteriorating health, his twin brother Jarron Collins, also a former NBA player, received the recognition on his behalf.
“I told my brother this before I came here: He’s the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known,” Jarron Collins said while accepting that award.
Throughout his professional career, Jason Collins maintained averages of 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He was instrumental in helping the New Jersey Nets advance to two NBA Finals appearances, with his most productive season coming in 2004-05 when he averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds.
“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.
“On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.”
Collins made his historic announcement through a personal essay published in Sports Illustrated during April 2013. Though he was between teams at the time, he expressed his desire to continue competing and subsequently appeared in 22 games for Brooklyn during the next season.
“If I had my way, someone else would have already done this,” he wrote at that time. “Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
The announcement received widespread praise, with notable players like Kobe Bryant immediately voicing their support. Even the White House and former President Bill Clinton endorsed Collins’ courage – Clinton’s daughter Chelsea had attended Stanford University alongside Collins. During his college years, Collins shared living quarters with Joe Kennedy III, who later served Massachusetts in Congress for eight years.
In his Sports Illustrated essay, Collins explained that watching Kennedy participate in Boston’s 2012 gay pride parade motivated him to speak publicly about his own identity, since he felt unable to do the same while remaining closeted.
Before his announcement, Collins had quietly shown support for LGBTQ+ causes through his jersey selections. He chose number 98 during his final three team stints with Boston, Washington, and Brooklyn – honoring the year Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student, was murdered. He also wore number 46 in one Nets game, though that was simply the only available jersey when he joined the team.
During his Stanford career, Collins achieved a shooting percentage of nearly 61%, establishing a university record that still stands. The Associated Press named him an honorable mention All-America selection in 2001, shortly before the Houston Rockets selected him 18th overall in that year’s draft.
“It’s a sad day for all of us associated with Stanford basketball when we lose one of the program’s greats,” former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. “We all have great memories of Jason and the kind of person he was. It’s hard to separate Jarron and Jason because they thought so alike, but even though he was an identical twin, Jason was unique in his own way. The impact he had on Stanford was immense, as he could match up against anyone in the country because he was big, smart, strong and skilled, all while being a very bright and nice person.”
