Nick Collison

Nick Collison

Collison with the Oklahoma City Thunder in March 2010
Oklahoma City Thunder
Position	Special assistant
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1980-10-26) October 26, 1980 (age 43) Orange City, Iowa, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school	Iowa Falls (Iowa Falls, Iowa)
College	Kansas (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003: 1st round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Playing career	2003–2018
Position	Power forward / center
Number	4
Career history
2003–2018	Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
No. 4 retired by Oklahoma City Thunder NABC Player of the Year (2003) Consensus first-team All-American (2003) Big 12 Player of the Year (2003) 2× First-team All-Big 12 (2001, 2003) No. 4 jersey retired by Kansas Jayhawks Second-team Parade All-American (1999) McDonald's All-American (1999)
Career statistics
Points	5,359 (5.9 ppg)
Rebounds	4,701 (5.2 rpg)
Assists	939 (1.0 apg)
Stats   at NBA.com
Stats   at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing   United States FIBA Americas Championship 2003 San Juan Team competition FIBA Americas U18 Championship 1998 Puerto Plata Team competition FIBA U19 World Championship 1999 Lisbon Team competition FIBA U21 World Championship 2001 Saitama Team competition

Nicholas John Collison (born October 26, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who is a special assistant for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent his entire career with the Seattle SuperSonics, later renamed the Thunder in 2008. Collison was drafted by the SuperSonics in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft and retired as a member of the Thunder in 2018. As a college player, he went to two Final Fours as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks.

Early life and high school career

Collison was born in Orange City, Iowa and grew up in Fort Dodge and Iowa Falls. He attended Iowa Falls High School and was a McDonald's All-American in 1999.

College career

Teaming with fellow Iowan Kirk Hinrich to form one of the best duos in college basketball, Collison helped the University of Kansas reach two consecutive Final Fours (2002 and 2003). Collison finished his college career as the leading scorer in the history of the Big 12 Conference (a mark since surpassed). In 2003, the Jayhawks lost to Carmelo Anthony and the Syracuse Orange in the National Championship game, 81–78. Collison also played for the United States national team at the 2002 FIBA World Championship. ^[1]

Collison's No. 4 jersey was retired by the Jayhawks on November 25, 2003 during halftime of the Kansas-Michigan State game in recognition of his achievements over his four-year career (2002–03 Player of the Year, consensus first-team All-America, Big 12 Player of the Year). ^[2]

Professional career

Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (2003–2018)

Draft year injury and relocation (2003–2008)

Collison with the Thunder in March 2011

Collison was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 12th overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft but missed the 2003–04 season with injuries to both shoulders. He made his NBA debut on November 3, 2004, recording two points, five rebounds and two assists in a 114–84 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Collison appeared in all 82 games in the 2004-05 season, averaging 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game. ^[3] He played in all 82 games for a second time during the 2006–07 season. On January 9, 2007, Collison had a career-best game with 29 points and 21 rebounds in a 113–102 loss to the Phoenix Suns. ^[4] In 2008, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City and rebranded as the Thunder.

Finals appearance and later years (2008–2018)

On December 19, 2010, Collison scored a season-high 19 points and added eight rebounds in a 113–120 loss to the Phoenix Suns. In the game, he also drew his 15th charge of the season, a majority of the 22 charges the Thunder had drawn as a team to that point in the season. ^[5] That postseason, on May 15, 2011, Collison helped the Thunder to a Western Conference Semifinals Game 7 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, with eight points and a playoff career-high 12 rebounds. ^[6] The next round, Collison and the Thunder lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Finals.

In 2012, Collison helped the Thunder make the leap to the next level, and reach the NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to the Miami Heat, who were led by Collison's fellow 2003 draftees LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

On February 3, 2015, Collison signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension with the Thunder. ^{[7] [8]}

On July 21, 2017, Collison re-signed with the Thunder to a one-year, minimum salary deal. ^{[9] [10]}

Collison's final NBA game was played on April 11, 2018, a 137-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies where he recorded one point and one rebound.

Retirement

On May 10, 2018, Collison announced his retirement from professional basketball. ^[11] On January 12, 2019, the Thunder announced that they would be retiring Collison's No. 4 jersey, becoming the first number retired by the Thunder. ^[12]

Post-playing career

Following his retirement as a player, Collison joined Thunder in the position of basketball operations representative. On August 10, 2021, he was promoted to the position of special assistant to executive Vice President and general manager. ^[13]

Personal life

After the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City, Collison continued to make his home in Seattle. ^{[14] [15]}

Collison appeared on the cover of the 989 Sports video game NCAA Final Four 2004. The game was released on November 11, 2003, for the PlayStation 2. ^[16]

Collison has a daughter named Emma. ^{[17] [18]} His younger brother, Michael, played college basketball for their father's alma mater, Briar Cliff University, in Sioux City, Iowa. ^[19]

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
*	Led the league

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004–05	Seattle	82	4	17.0	.537	.000	.703	4.6	.4	.4	.6	5.6
2005–06	Seattle	66	27	21.9	.525	.000	.699	5.6	1.1	.3	.5	7.5
2006–07	Seattle	82*	56	29.0	.500	.000	.774	8.1	1.0	.6	.8	9.6
2007–08	Seattle	78	35	28.5	.502	.000	.737	9.4	1.4	.6	.8	9.8
2008–09	Oklahoma City	71	40	25.8	.568	.000	.721	6.9	.9	.7	.7	8.2
2009–10	Oklahoma City	75	5	20.8	.589	.250	.692	5.1	.5	.5	.6	5.9
2010–11	Oklahoma City	71	2	21.5	.566	–	.753	4.5	1.0	.6	.4	4.6
2011–12	Oklahoma City	63	0	20.7	.597	.000	.710	4.3	1.3	.5	.4	4.5
2012–13	Oklahoma City	81	2	19.5	.595	.000	.769	4.1	1.5	.6	.4	5.1
2013–14	Oklahoma City	81	0	16.7	.556	.235	.710	3.6	1.3	.4	.3	4.2
2014–15	Oklahoma City	66	2	16.7	.419	.267	.692	3.8	1.4	.5	.4	4.1
2015–16	Oklahoma City	59	4	11.8	.459	.000	.697	2.9	.9	.3	.3	2.1
2016–17	Oklahoma City	20	0	6.4	.609	000	.625	1.6	.5	.1	.1	1.7
2017–18	Oklahoma City	15	0	5.0	.684	–	.385	1.3	.3	.0	.0	2.1
Career		910	177	20.4	.534	.208	.723	5.2	1.0	.5	.5	5.9

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2005	Seattle	11	0	19.8	.607	1.000	.630	5.0	.5	.3	.5	8.4
2010	Oklahoma City	6	0	21.5	.333	.000	.429	4.7	.3	.8	.2	3.2
2011	Oklahoma City	17	0	24.3	.632	.000	.783	5.8	.9	.9	.9	6.7
2012	Oklahoma City	20	0	16.6	.647	.000	.429	3.4	1.0	.6	.3	3.5
2013	Oklahoma City	11	0	16.2	.468	.000	.917	4.6	1.1	.5	1.0	5.0
2014	Oklahoma City	17	2	10.8	.414	.400	.700	2.2	.8	.2	.4	1.9
2016	Oklahoma City	9	0	8.8	.667	.000	.500	1.2	.6	.9	.0	1.0
Career		91	2	16.8	.558	.429	.682	3.8	.8	.6	.5	4.3

See also

• Sports portal

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds
• List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise

References

1. "Collison Named Alternate On USA World Championship Team". big12sports.com. June 12, 2002.
2. "COLLISON'S JERSEY TO BE RETIRED". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
3. "Nick Collison 2004–05 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
4. "Suns Win Seventh Straight, Beat Sonics". NBA.com. January 10, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
5. "Nick Collison contributing key minutes". December 19, 2010.
6. "Game Recap - Playoffs Round 2 Game 7 vs Memphis Grizzlies". NBA.com .
7. "Thunder Signs Nick Collison to Contract Extension". www.nba.com.
8. "Thunder sign Nick Collison to two-year, nearly $8 million contract extension". NBC Sports. February 3, 2015.
9. "Thunder Signs Nick Collison". www.nba.com.
10. "Collison signs new contract with Thunder". ESPN.com. July 21, 2017.
11. Gallo, Nick (May 10, 2018). "Seeing Off a True Pro – Thunder Fan Favorite Nick Collison Retires". NBA.com. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
12. "Thunder Set to Retire Nick Collison's No. 4". NBA.com. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
13. "Nick Collison To Take On New Role In Thunder Front Office". Oklahoma City Thunder. August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
14. WASHBURN, GARY (August 27, 2008). "Collison reflects on Sonics' relocation". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
15. "Need a view? Nick Collison's Queen Anne home "without rival"".
16. "College Hoops Sensation Nick Collison Signs as Cover Athlete For NCAA Final Four 2004 by 989 Sports". www.sony.com.
17. "The Nick Collison Guest Blog, Vol. 1: How I Spent My (Extended) Summer Vacation". GQ. December 22, 2011.
18. "Super Sonic Wedding Superb! Doing it Right at Court in the Square, Hotel 1000, and Pravda!". JanetKlinger.com. August 20, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
19. "#33 Michael Collison".

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com    and  Basketball-Reference.com
• Nick Collison at nba.com