John Martin Collins III (born September 23, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a mem ...

. Collins was selected with the 19th pick by the Hawks in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

Early life

Collins was born in

Layton, Utah Layton is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden-Clearfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 81,773, with 2022 estimates showing a slight increase to 84,665. Layto ...

, to John Collins Jr. and Lyria Rissing-Collins from the U.S. Virgin Islands. His father served in the Navy and his mother was in the Air Force. As a result, the family moved a lot during Collins' youth, spending time in the Virgin Islands,

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

.. He regularly played soccer as a teenager on his mother's military bases. He is a big

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

football fan, and an avid supporter of London team

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Collins attended Cardinal Newman High School in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

. While at Newman, he was a three-time letter winner and was named the Florida Class 4A Player of the Year his senior year. On November 13, 2014, he signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at Wake Forest.

College career

Collins appeared in all 31 of his team's game during his freshman year. He led the team in field goal accuracy at 54.7%. John Collins 2017

On January 18, 2017, Collins scored 27 points and 7 rebounds in a 96–79 win against

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. On January 21, 2017, Collins scored 21 points and 9 rebounds in a 93–88 win over

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. On January 23, 2017, Collins was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) player of the week. On January 31, 2017, Collins scored 26 points and 16 rebounds in an 85–80 victory against Boston College. On February 4, 2017, Collins scored a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds in an 81–69 win over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. On February 20, 2017, Collins earned ACC Player of the week honors for the second consecutive time. On February 22, 2017, Collins scored 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 63–59 win against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. On March 2, 2017, Collins scored 25 points and 11 rebounds in an 88–81 win against No.8 ranked

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. As a starter his sophomore year, Collins led Wake Forest in scoring and rebounding with 19.2 points per game and 9.8 rebounds a game. Collins also led the ACC in field goal percentage and 20 point and 10 rebound games (10). Collins streak of 20 point games for 12 consecutive times is the longest ever by a Wake Forest player, while also becoming the first to score 600 points and 300 in a season since former Demon Deacon and NBA Hall of Famer

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

did it during the 1996–97 season. His performance earned him recognition as the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Most Improved Player and he was named first-team all-ACC. After the season Collins entered the

, forgoing his final two years of eligibility.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2017–present)

On June 22, 2017, Collins was selected with the nineteenth overall pick in the

by the

. On July 1, 2017, he signed a rookie-scaled deal with the Hawks. During the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

, he earned All-Summer League First Team honors due to his performances with the Hawks, which gave him averages of 15.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in 23.1 minutes of action in the five games he played there. His highlight play was him dunking on

Pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

center

Cheick Diallo Cheick Diallo (born September 13, 1996) is a Malian professional basketball player for the Kyoto Hannaryz of the B.League. Diallo was a five-star recruit and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played ...

. Collins later saw action in all five preseason games for the Hawks, coming off the bench with per game averages of 7.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 19.2 minutes. On October 22, 2017, in his third ever NBA game, Collins recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–104 loss to the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

. He followed it up the very next night with another double-double performance against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, getting 14 points and 11 rebounds in a 104–93 loss. Due to an injury to Luke Babbitt, Collins played 36 minutes and scored a career high 21 points in a 96–85 losing effort to the

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

on November 20, 2017. With Babbitt still sidelined, Collins drew his first career start two days later against the

Los Angeles 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 ...

. Although the Hawks ended up losing 116–103, he impressed with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in a career high 38 minutes. Late in the November 30 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Collins suffered a shoulder injury and was expected to be out for 2 to 3 weeks. He made his return on December 14 to play the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

, missing a total of six games. By the trade deadline on February 8, 2018, the Hawks had a losing record of 17–37. With the postseason out of reach, Collins saw an increase in minutes and made his fifth start of the season on February 14 in a rematch with the Pistons. Other than two missed games in March due to an ankle injury, he started for the Hawks the rest of the season. Although Atlanta managed just 24 wins, Collins averaged 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on 57.6% shooting while tallying 11 double-doubles in his rookie season. On May 22, 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. On January 23, 2019, Collins recorded a career high 35 points in a 121–101 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

. On April 10, 2019, he scored 20 points and recorded a career-high 25 rebounds in a 135–134 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Hawks' season finale. On November 5, 2019, Collins was suspended by the NBA for 25 games without pay for violating the league's anti-drug policy. He tested positive for pralmorelin, a growth hormone-releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2). On December 23, 2019, Collins returned from his suspension and recorded a double-double scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 121–118 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 22, 2020, Collins scored 33 points and 16 rebounds in a 102–95 victory over the

. On February 5, 2020, Collins put up 27 points and 12 rebounds in a 127–120 win over the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On February 22, 2020, he tied his career high in points scoring 35 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in a 111–107 win against the Dallas Mavericks. On March 9, 2020, Collins scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 143–138 double–overtime win against the Charlotte Hornets. The Atlanta Hawks formally signed Collins to a five-year contract worth $125 million on August 6, 2021. On January 13, 2023, Collins made a buzzer-beating, game-winning tip-in in a 113–111 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 74 , , 26 , , 24.1 , , .576 , , .340 , , .715 , , 7.3 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 1.1 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 59 , , 30.0 , , .560 , , .348 , , .763 , , 9.8 , , 2.0 , , .4 , , .6 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 41 , , 41 , , 33.2 , , .583 , , .401 , , .800 , , 10.1 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 1.6 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 63 , , 29.3 , , .556 , , .399 , , .833 , , 7.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 53 , , 30.8 , , .526 , , .364 , , .793 , , 7.8 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 16.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 293 , , 242 , , 29.0 , , .559 , , .376 , , .779 , , 8.3 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 16.5

Playoffs

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, 18 , , 18 , , 32.0 , , .549 , , .357 , , .833 , , 8.7 , , .9 , , .4 , , .6 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

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, 5 , , 4 , , 24.3 , , .487 , , .364 , , .500 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 9.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 23 , , 22 , , 30.3 , , .538 , , .358 , , .761 , , 7.8 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .5 , , 12.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 31 , , 1 , , 14.4 , , .547 , , – , , .691 , , 3.9 , , .2 , , .3 , , .7 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Wake Forest , 33 , , 33 , , 26.6 , , .622 , , .000 , , .745 , , 9.8 , , .5 , , .6 , , 1.6 , , 19.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 64 , , 34 , , 20.7 , , .601 , , .000 , , .729 , , 7.0 , , .4 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 13.4

References

External links

Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, John 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Florida Doping cases in basketball Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball players