Jason Collier is a name that most modern-day NBA fans might not even recognize. Though he didn’t have the flashiest of starts in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, the 7-foot center eventually showed glimpses of how dominant he could be inside the paint. Just when it seemed like he was beginning to get a grip on the league and how to assert himself, target struck. At just 28 years old, the Atlanta Hawks center passed away suddenly due to a heart condition.
Collier’s sudden demise
Jason commenced his basketball career in a terrific manner, leading Catholic Central High School to a state championship and deservingly earning the Ohio Mr. Basketball honor. However, after transitioning into collegiate basketball, he wasn’t able to showcase the same form -merely averaging 9.7 points over his first two years for the Indiana Hoosiers.
However, after Collier took a transfer to Georgia Tech, he showed why he was such a highly touted prospect. He averaged 17.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in two campaigns, which ultimately convinced the Milwaukee Bucks to draft him with their 15th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft.
He never suited up for the Bucks as they traded him to the Rockets. His start in the big boys league was rocky, and with limited minutes, Collier managed just 3.5 points per game over three seasons. However, after being traded to the Hawks in 2003, he began to show flashes of his potential as a reliable big man, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
However, by the time of the 2005-06 season, Collier was demoted as a backup for the Hawks. While he would have hoped to make his presence felt more productively, fate had other plans.
On October 15, 2005, Collier was at home when he started experiencing breathing problems. The severity of that event could be sensed in the fact that his wife immediately called 911 and gave him CPR. Though paramedics managed to find a faint pulse, Jason tragically died on the way to the hospital. A shock that left the Hawks GM Billy Knight completely speechless.
"We'll wait until the experts can tell us, but there’s no comments about any speculating at all that I’m going to do," Knight said . "Right now we just think about Jason and his family, his wife and a daughter. He was a good guy, a great teammate and a member of our organization. We're going to miss him."
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Collier suffered the same fate as Reggie Lewis
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later confirmed that a sudden cardiac rhythm disturbance caused Collier’s death due to an enlarged heart. Interestingly, this was the same condition that claimed the lives of Boston Celtics’ Reggie Lewis and college basketball star Hank Gathers.
Safe to say, this tragic event served as a reminder of how NBA players, especially centers, while seen as the most dominant athletes in basketball, face peculiar health risks due to their size.
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