Zach Collins
Collins with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018
No. 23 – San Antonio Spurs
PositionCenter / power forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-11-19) November 19, 1997 (age 26)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolBishop Gorman
(Summerlin, Nevada)
CollegeGonzaga (2016–2017)
NBA draft2017: 1st round, 10th overall pick
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2021Portland Trail Blazers
2021–presentSan Antonio Spurs
2022→Austin Spurs
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Zach Collins (born November 19, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night. During his earlier career with the team he battled many injuries causing him to only play in 154 games in his first 4 seasons. He joined the Spurs as a free agent in August 2021.

High school career

Collins played high school basketball at Bishop Gorman High School in Summerlin, Nevada, where he helped to lead his school to four consecutive state championships.[1] For his first three seasons at Bishop Gorman, Collins came off the bench and played alongside fellow seven-footers and McDonald's All-Americans Stephen Zimmerman and Chase Jeter.[2][3]

Collins had a productive senior year, averaging 17.3 points, 14 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 6.4 blocked shots on his way to the most valuable player of Nevada's Southwest League[4] and the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year award.[5] Collins also broke Nevada's single-season record for most rebounds and blocked shots during his senior season.[6]

In the summer of 2015, Collins competed in the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Championships, where he teamed up with Jalek Felton, Payton Pritchard, and P.J. Washington and won the USA tournament. His team moved on to represent the US at the 2015 World Championship in Debrecen, Hungary, where they finished in eighth place.[7] His team advanced to the final 16 where they defeated Poland, but then lost a close game to France, featuring fellow Gonzaga commit Killian Tillie, in the quarter-finals.[8][9]

Despite being rated as a four-star prospect, Collins was named to the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game.[10] Collins was the first McDonald's All-American to commit to Gonzaga out of high school, but three other McDonald's All-American transferred to Gonzaga after attending other colleges: Micah Downs, Kyle Wiltjer, and Nigel Williams-Goss.[11] Collins helped to lead the West squad to a 114–107 win in the while scoring nine points, along with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals on 3-for-5 field goals and 1-for-2 three-pointers in 12 minutes of play.[12]

Recruiting

In the winter of 2015, during Collins' junior year in high school, he took official visits to California, San Diego State, Utah, New Mexico, and Gonzaga, as well as unofficial visits to UNLV.[13] After his junior year, in March 2015, Collins committed to Gonzaga.[14] He signed with the Zags in the early signing period as a key member of Gonzaga's highest-ranked recruiting class in school history.[15]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Zach Collins
C 		Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Mar 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #38   Rivals: #21  247Sports: #20  ESPN: #37
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2016 Gonzaga Rivals Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Gonzaga Scout Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Gonzaga ESPN Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  • "2016 Gonzaga 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2015.

College career

As a freshman at Gonzaga, Collins usually played off the bench as a center, working in rotation – and occasionally in tandem – with fifth-year senior center Przemek Karnowski.[16][17] During the 2016–17 season, he averaged 10 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks over 17.3 minutes of playing time per game.[18] In the national semifinal game of the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Collins scored 14 points, collected 13 rebounds, and made six blocks, as the Bulldogs defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 77–73, sending them to their first national championship game.[19][20]

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2017–2021)

At the conclusion of his freshman season, Collins announced his intention to forgo his final three years of college eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft.[21] He was drafted 10th overall by the Sacramento Kings and subsequently traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.[22][23] On July 3, 2017, Collins signed with the Trail Blazers.[24]

On November 5, 2019, the Trail Blazers announced that Collins had undergone successful surgery in repairing his left labrum and was expected to be sidelined for about four months.[25] On December 30, 2020, the Trail Blazers announced that Collins had undergone successful surgery in repairing his left medial malleolus stress fracture,[26] and as result he missed the entire season.[27][28]

As he was recovering from his previous injury, Collins refractured his foot, and on June 29, 2021, the Trail Blazers announced that he underwent a second revision surgery to repair his left medial malleolus stress fracture.[27][28][29] He did not appear in the playoffs as a result of the injury.

San Antonio Spurs (2021–present)

On August 11, 2021, Collins signed with the San Antonio Spurs.[30] On January 16, 2022, he was assigned to the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, while recovering from his ankle injury.[31] On January 31, he was recalled.[32] He made his Spurs debut February 4 against the Houston Rockets, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds.[33]

On February 10, 2023, Collins scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds during a 138–131 double overtime loss against the Detroit Pistons.[34] During the 2022-23 season, Collins improved his statistical averages, in total averaging nearly 12 points per game, three assists per game and shooting 52% from the field and 37% from three.[citation needed]

On October 22, 2023, Collins signed a 2-year $35 million contract extension with the Spurs.[35]

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

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Portland 66 1 15.8 .398 .310 .643 3.3 .8 .3 .5 4.4
2018–19 Portland 77 0 17.6 .473 .331 .746 4.2 .9 .3 .9 6.6
2019–20 Portland 11 11 26.4 .471 .368 .750 6.3 1.5 .5 .5 7.0
2021–22 San Antonio 28 4 17.9 .490 .341 .800 5.5 2.2 .5 .8 7.8
2022–23 San Antonio 63 26 22.9 .518 .374 .761 6.4 2.9 .6 .8 11.6
Career 245 42 18.9 .477 .342 .749 4.8 1.6 .4 .7 7.5

Play-in

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Portland 1 1 7.5 .500 .500 – 1.0 .0 .0 .0 3.0
2022 San Antonio 1 0 16.8 .500 .000 .500 2.0 .0 .0 1.0 5.0
Career 2 1 12.1 .500 .333 .500 1.5 .0 .0 .5 4.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018 Portland 4 0 17.5 .367 .214 .750 3.0 1.5 .8 .5 7.0
2019 Portland 16 0 17.2 .506 .333 .800 3.6 .9 .4 1.4 6.8
Career 20 0 17.3 .468 .286 .793 3.5 1.0 .5 1.2 6.9

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Gonzaga 39 0 17.3 .652 .476 .743 5.9 .4 .5 1.8 10.0

Honors and awards

References

  1. ^ Brewer, Ray (February 26, 2016). "With latest state title, Bishop Gorman sets new Nevada mark for championships". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "RECRUITING: Bishop Gorman's Collins commits to Gonzaga". March 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Zach Collins Is Serious About 3x3". June 5, 2015. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
  4. ^ "Nevada Boys Basketball POY: Zach Collins". March 17, 2016.
  5. ^ "Nevada Boys Basketball POY: Zach Collins". March 17, 2016.
  6. ^ "2016 7'0 C Zach Collins; Bishop Gorman (NV) Breaks single season record in rebounds and blocks for the state of Nevada. Collins is a PRO". February 26, 2016.
  7. ^ "USA Basketball Profile: Zach Collins". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "FIBA 3x3 Profile: Zach Collins". Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  9. ^ "2015 United States FIBA 3x3 U18 Team". Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  10. ^ "McDonald's All American Zach Collins is big man with will to move the ball". January 21, 2016.
  11. ^ "McDonald's notes: Las Vegas 7-footer Zach Collins is first Gonzaga commit in All-American game". Chicago Tribune. March 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "Gorman's Collins fuels victory in All American game". March 30, 2016.
  13. ^ "Collins to get spotlight on him". March 6, 2015.
  14. ^ "Zach Collins commits to Zags". March 16, 2015.
  15. ^ "Gonzaga MBB Inks Four to NLI in Early Signing Period". November 20, 2015.
  16. ^ Thamel, Pete. "The one player who embodies Gonzaga's rise to blueblood". SI.com. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  17. ^ "Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins Are the PB&J of Basketball Big Duos". The Ringer. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  18. ^ "Zach Collins". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  19. ^ "Zach Collins saves Gonzaga with serendipitous shot, dominant defense". Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  20. ^ "Built on stability, Gonzaga is lifted by freshman Zach Collins at Final Four". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  21. ^ Jim Meehan (April 11, 2017). "Gonzaga's Zach Collins declares for NBA Draft, intends to hire agent". Spokesman.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  22. ^ Conway, Tyler. "Zach Collins Picked No. 10 in NBA Draft, Kings Trade Him to Blazers". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  23. ^ "Trail Blazers Acquire Draft Rights to Zach Collins". NBA.com. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  24. ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN ZACH COLLINS". NBA.com. July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  25. ^ "ZACH COLLINS UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SHOULDER SURGERY". NBA.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  26. ^ "ZACH COLLINS UNDERGOES ANKLE SURGERY". NBA.com. December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  27. ^ a b Hostetler, L. (June 29, 2021). "Zach Collins Fractures Foot Again". Blazer's Edge. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Trail Blazers' Zach Collins: Re-fractures foot". CBSSports.com. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  29. ^ "Blazers' Zach Collins (ankle) undergoes surgery". NBA.com. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  30. ^ "Spurs sign Zach Collins". NBA.com. August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "SAN ANTONIO ASSIGNS ZACH COLLINS TO AUSTIN SPURS". NBA G League. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  32. ^ "Zach Collins recalled to Spurs Monday". FantasyPros. January 31, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  33. ^ Winick, Matthew (February 4, 2022). "Spurs' Collins makes immediate impact in 1st game since NBA bubble". The Score. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  34. ^ Zach Collins takes advantage of playing time with monster game Friday
  35. ^ "Report: Zach Collins, Spurs finalizing 2-year, $35 million contract extension". NBA.com. Retrieved October 22, 2023.

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