Nick Collison Signs With the Oklahoma City Thunder For One Last Time
The veteran forward takes a minimum contract to finish his career with the same franchise he began with.
Nowitzki.
Parker.
Ginobili.
Names known for their longevity with a single franchise, for loyalty, for being trusted veterans and culture setters. These 3 are the longest-tenured players in the NBA, spending their entire careers in one place.
The 4th longest-tenured player? Well, that’s a toss-up between Nick Collison and Udonis Haslem. Not exactly names that immediately come to mind. But for the teams that they play for, it’s hard to imagine the franchise without them.
(No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, this is a compilation of Collison taking charges and screening with a Rick Ross track over top of it.)
Collison was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, a keen young big man out of Kansas who learned quickly that he didn’t have what it took to be one of the stars of the league. To his credit, he devoted himself to being the best role player, teammate and hustle guy that he could from that point forward. And he succeeded.
Nick Collison 2016–17 Stats:
1.6 points (60.9 field goal percentage), 1.6 rebounds, .6 assists, .1 steals, .1 blocks
Fit:
Collison played very few minutes last year, but noted in his exit interview that he planned to play “for sure”. Some of his comments indicated that he might like to receive a few more minutes than he did last season. It’s unclear whether or not this will happen, but the Thunder’s big man rotation from last year is much depleted this year, and he still has value in certain matchups.
Going into his last season, Collison’s most recognizable skills are tough interior defense and a remarkably deft passing touch for a big man. Though his physical abilities have eroded, he’s a savvy defender and makes life miserable for opposing bigs that like to operate in the paint. Don’t believe me? Ask DeAndre Jordan, who says that Nick was “one of the toughest players I’ve ever matched up with”.
“I remember one time when we were playing in Oklahoma City and Nick came into the game. He came right up to me and — super politely — said, “Hey man, I’m just letting you know that my coach told me not to let you get any rebounds.” Then he smiled. He was so damn respectful about it.
The rest of the night, every time the ball was at the rim, Nick was crashing into my legs with the hardest box-outs I’d ever felt. He was a man with one mission: to keep me from getting boards. Nick is not the tallest dude, but he’s relentless. He’s a hard, hard competitor. When I play him I know I’m gonna be sore in the morning because I gotta box this guy out every time — and I know he’s gonna box me out every time.”
He boxes out hard, screens hard, cleans up the mess, and makes the right passes. On the court and off the court, he’s respected. Salute to you, Nick Collison. Here’s hoping this is only the beginning of your Thunder journey, and there’s a place in the front office or the coaching staff with your name on it. It’s deserved.
