Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Collison played four seasons of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He earned All-Pac-10 conference honors three times, and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award his senior year as the top college player standing or under. He was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round with the 21st overall pick of the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

. Collison also played for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

Early life

Collison was born in

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28th ...

to parents Dennis and

June Griffith June Marcia Griffith (''married'' Collison) (born June 16, 1957) is a retired Guyanese track and field athlete. She participated in both sprint and jumping events. She represented Guyana in the 400 meters at the 1984 Olympics, making it to the ...

, who were both elite track and field athletes for

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. As a senior at

Etiwanda High School Etiwanda High School is a public high school in Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States. It is one of the twelve schools of the Chaffey Joint Union High School District and serves students in the Etiwanda community on the northeast side of Ran ...

under coach Dave Kleckner, Collison was named a fourth-team ''Parade'' All-American. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Collison was listed as the No. 16 point guard and the No. 100 player in the nation in 2005.

College career

He was a backup to Jordan Farmar in the Bruins' 2005–06 season, becoming the starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

the following season. He was awarded the MVP of the Maui Invitational Tournament in December 2006 and was named the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

Player of the Week on December 4, 2006, and again on February 18, 2007. During the 2006–07 season, Collison averaged 2.2 steals per game—the most in the

. He also averaged 5.7 assists (2nd in the Pac-10), as well as a three-point field goal percentage of 44.7 percent. Collison returned to UCLA for his junior and senior years and ended up playing in a total of 142 games at UCLA, tied for the most ever. In his senior year in 2008–09, he was named to the All-Pac-10 team after averaging 14.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He led the conference in free throw percentage, and was third in assists, steals, and assists-to-turnover ratio. Collison won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award that year, awarded to the best college player 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or shorter. He was also named the Bruins' co-

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) along with Josh Shipp. Collison and fellow senior teammates Shipp and

Alfred Aboya Alfred Aboya Baliaba (born 2 January 1985) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player and current coach. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, advancing to three Final Fours. He was a member of the winningest class in UCLA ...

finished their careers as the winningest class in UCLA history with 123 wins. The distinction was relative, as

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

's legendary teams played shorter seasons and freshmen were ineligible.

Professional career

New Orleans Hornets (2009–2010)

Collison was widely considered to be one of the top

prospects in the 2009 NBA Draft coming out of UCLA. He was selected in the first round with the 21st overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets. With Chris Paul out for months at two separate times during the 2009–10 season, Collison became the starting point guard. Collison handed out a Hornets rookie-record 18 assists and scored 17 points on January 30, 2010 when New Orleans ended Memphis's 11-game home winning streak with a 113–111 overtime victory. Later on March 8, 2010, Collison broke his own record with a Hornets rookie-record 20 assists (along with 16 points) in a 135–131 victory over the Golden State Warriors. In a game against the Indiana Pacers on February 19, 2010, Collison became only the second rookie of the 2009–10 season to get a triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. He finished 4th in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and averaged 18.8 points and 9.1 assists in the 37 games as a starter, but had four turnovers a contest as a starter in his first NBA season.

Indiana Pacers (2010–2012)

On August 11, 2010, the Hornets traded Collison and James Posey to the

in a four-team, five-player deal that also sent Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets, Trevor Ariza to the New Orleans Hornets and Courtney Lee to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

Dallas Mavericks (2012–2013)

On July 12, 2012, Collison and

Dahntay Jones Dahntay Lavall Jones (born December 27, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for th ...

were traded to the

for Ian Mahinmi. Collison became the Mavericks' starting point guard, replacing Jason Kidd who left as a free agent. Collison was a key player in Dallas' 4–1 start in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, but he struggled as they lost 8 of their next 11. After starting the team's first 14 games, Collison came off the bench for one game. He missed the next game with a sprained right middle finger, prompting Dallas to sign Derek Fisher. Fisher started in his first game with the Mavericks, while Collison remained a reserve. 14 games later, on December 27, 2012, he regained the starting job.

Los Angeles Clippers (2013–2014)

Darren Collison 20131118 Clippers v Grizzles

On July 10, 2013, Collison signed a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. He again backed up Chris Paul, who was also on the Clippers. When Paul was out 18 games with an injured shoulder, Collison started and averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 assists in 32.6 minutes. The Clippers went 12–6 in that span, and coach Doc Rivers said the team "weathered the storm" without their All-Star point guard; he called Collison's play "the key." In Game 4 of the second round of the

2014 NBA Playoffs The 2014 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2013–14 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending NBA champion and Eastern Co ...

against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Clippers overcame a 22-point deficit to tie the series at 2–2, as Collison scored 12 of his 18 points in the final quarter to help lead the team to a 101–99 win.

Sacramento Kings (2014–2017)

On July 12, 2014, Collison signed a three-year, $16 million deal with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings offered him a starting job at point guard, and the Clippers were unable to match either the deal or the playing time. On December 27, 2014, Collison had a season-best game with 27 points and 10 assists in a 135–129 overtime win over the New York Knicks. On February 26, 2015, he was ruled out for three to six weeks with a right hip flexor. Collison was suspended for the first eight games of the 2016–17 season after pleading guilty on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.

Return to Indiana (2017–2019)

On July 7, 2017, Collison signed with the

, returning to the franchise for a second stint. He had knee surgery in early February 2018, returning to the Pacers' line-up in mid-March. After gradually improving his three-point shooting throughout his career, Collison led the league with a career-best 47% 3-point percentage in 2017–18. On December 10, 2018, in a 109–101 win over the Washington Wizards, Collison had 17 assists, his highest single-game total with Indiana. He ended the 2018–19 season with averages of 11 points and six assists. On June 28, 2019, Collison announced his retirement from the NBA. A Jehovah’s Witness, he cited religious reasons for retiring. He had been expected to draw multiple contract offers for around $10 million per season.

Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2022)

On December 24, 2021, Collison came out of retirement, signing a 10-day contract with the

South Bay Lakers (2022)

On March 24, 2022, Collison signed with the South Bay Lakers.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", New Orleans , 76 , , 37 , , 27.8 , , .477 , , .400 , , .851 , , 2.5 , , 5.7 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 79 , , 79 , , 29.9 , , .457 , , .331 , , .871 , , 2.8 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 60 , , 56 , , 31.3 , , .440 , , .362 , , .830 , , 3.1 , , 4.8 , , .8 , , .2 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Dallas , 81 , , 47 , , 29.3 , , .471 , , .353 , , .880 , , 2.7 , , 5.1 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, 80 , , 35 , , 25.9 , , .467 , , .376 , , .857 , , 2.4 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Sacramento , 45 , , 45 , , 34.8 , , .473 , , .373 , , .788 , , 3.2 , , 5.6 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Sacramento , 74 , , 15 , , 30.0 , , .486 , , .401 , , .858 , , 2.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Sacramento , 68 , , 63 , , 30.3 , , .476 , , .417 , , .860 , , 2.2 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 69 , , 64 , , 29.2 , , .495 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .468* , , .882 , , 2.6 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 76 , , 76 , , 28.2 , , .467 , , .407 , , .832 , , 3.1 , , 6.0 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 3 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , – , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 711 , , 518 , , 29.3 , , .471 , , .394 , , .853 , , 2.7 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 12.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 5 , , 5 , , 29.2 , , .391 , , .667 , , .636 , , 2.6 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 11 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .514 , , .364 , , .870 , , 1.3 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , 0 , , 19.2 , , .389 , , .083 , , .867 , , 2.1 , , 2.4 , , .5 , , .1 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 7 , , 7 , , 30.6 , , .456 , , .348 , , .750 , , 3.0 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;", Indiana , 4 , , 4 , , 29.3 , , .422 , , .364 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , 12.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 12 , , 22.6 , , .438 , , .327 , , .824 , , 2.1 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 9.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", UCLA , 39 , , 2 , , 19.2 , , .402 , , .328 , , .784 , , 1.8 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", UCLA , 35 , , 35 , , 33.0 , , .478 , , .447 , , .810 , , 2.3 , , 5.7 , , 2.2 , , .1 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", UCLA , 33 , , 32 , , 34.7 , , .481 , , .525 , , .872 , , 2.6 , , 3.8 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", UCLA , 35 , , 35 , , 31.5 , , .509 , , .394 , , .897 , , 2.4 , , 4.7 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 14.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 142 , , 104 , , 29.2 , , .475 , , .435 , , .851 , , 2.3 , , 4.1 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 11.5

Personal life

Collison is the son of June and Dennis Collison. His parents were elite track and field athletes. His mother represented

at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

in Los Angeles. Collison is the founder and CEO of ProsVision, an Orange Country-based basketball training facility.

Awards and recognition

* 2004 CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year * 2005 CIF Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year * 2007 All-Pac-10 First Team Finney 2010, p.105 * 2008 All-Pac-10 Second Team * 2008 Pac-10 Conference tournament Most Valuable Player * 2008 Associated Press Third Team All-American * 2008 Collegeinsider.com All-Defensive Team (along with teammate Russell Westbrook) * 2009 All-Pac-10 First Team * 2009 honorable mention in the AP All-America basketball teams.2008–09 AP All-America Basketball Teams
/ref> * 2009 UCLA Bruins co-MVP (along with Josh Shipp)

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collison, Darren 1987 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American Jehovah's Witnesses American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Guyanese descent Basketball players from California Dallas Mavericks players Indiana Pacers players Los Angeles Clippers players Los Angeles Lakers players New Orleans Hornets draft picks New Orleans Hornets players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Rancho Cucamonga, California Point guards Sacramento Kings players Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California UCLA Bruins men's basketball players