Zach Collins (born November 19, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(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

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. 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. He spent four seasons in Portland before signing with 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. 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 Stephen Eric Zimmerman Jr. (born September 9, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for UNLV before being selected with the 41st overall pick in the ...

and

Chase Jeter Chase Michael Jeter (born September 19, 1997) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and the Arizona Wildcats. High school career Jeter played basketball for Bishop Gorman High School in Summerlin, ...

. 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 and the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year award. Collins also broke Nevada's single-season record for most rebounds and blocked shots during his senior season. In the summer of 2015, Collins competed in the

FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Championships The FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup is an under-18 basketball tournament run by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) since 2011. The tournament was known as the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships until the 2016 edition. History The event was held f ...

, where he teamed up with

Jalek Felton Jalek Shiquan Felton (born May 1, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Fiobanka Jindřichův Hradec of the Czech National Basketball League. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. High school career C ...

, 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. 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 Killian Wiard Tillie (born 5 March 1998) is a French professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Listed at and , he plays the power forward and center positions. Tillie jo ...

, in the quarter-finals. Despite being rated as a four-star prospect, Collins was named to the

2016 McDonald's All-American Game The 2016 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Bulls. The game's rosters features the best and most highly recruited h ...

. 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 Kyle Gregory Wiltjer (born October 20, 1992) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He spent two seasons of college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats before tr ...

, and

Nigel Williams-Goss Nigel Williams-Goss (born September 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was selected by the Utah Jazz, with the 55th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He played ...

. 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.

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. After his junior year, in March 2015, Collins committed to Gonzaga. He signed with the Zags in the early signing period as a key member of Gonzaga's highest-ranked recruiting class in school history.

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. 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. 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.

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. He was drafted 10th overall by the Sacramento Kings and subsequently traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. On July 3, 2017, Collins signed with the Trail Blazers. 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. On December 30, 2020, the Trail Blazers announced that Collins had undergone successful surgery in repairing his left medial malleolus

stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running or ...

, and as result he missed the entire season. 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.

San Antonio Spurs (2021–present)

On August 11, 2021, Collins signed with the

. On January 16, 2022, he was assigned to the Austin Spurs of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA D ...

, while recovering from his ankle injury. On January 31, he was recalled. He made his Spurs debut February 4 against the Houston Rockets, scoring 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds. On February 10, 2023, Collins scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds during a 138–131 double overtime loss against 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 ...

. Zach Collins takes advantage of playing time with monster game Friday
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Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 66 , , 1 , , 15.8 , , .398 , , .310 , , .643 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 77 , , 0 , , 17.6 , , .473 , , .331 , , .746 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .9 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 11 , , 11 , , 26.4 , , .471 , , .368 , , .750 , , 6.3 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, 28 , , 4 , , 17.9 , , .490 , , .341 , , .800 , , 5.5 , , 2.2 , , .5 , , .8 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 26 , , 22.9 , , .518 , , .374 , , .761 , , 6.4 , , 2.9 , , .6 , , .8 , , 11.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 245 , , 42 , , 18.9 , , .477 , , .342 , , .749 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .7 , , 7.5

Play-in

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2020 , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 1 , , 1 , , 7.5 , , .500 , , .500 , , , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022 , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .500 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 5.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 2 , , 1 , , 12.1 , , .500 , , .333 , , .500 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .5 , , 4.0

Playoffs

, - , 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;", Portland , 4 , , 0 , , 17.5 , , .367 , , .214 , , .750 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 7.0 , - , 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;", Portland , 16 , , 0 , , 17.2 , , .506 , , .333 , , .800 , , 3.6 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 6.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 20 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .468 , , .286 , , .793 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 6.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Gonzaga , 39 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .652 , , .476 , , .743 , , 5.9 , , .4 , , .5 , , 1.8 , , 10.0

Honors and awards

* McDonald's All-American (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) * Nevada All-Southwest League MVP (2016) * Nevada first-team All-Southwest League (2016) * 4× Nevada Division I state championship titles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) * NCAA All-Tournament Team (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

)

References

External links

Gonzaga Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Zach 1997 births Living people American men's basketball players Austin Spurs players Basketball players from Nevada Bishop Gorman High School alumni Centers (basketball) Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans People from North Las Vegas, Nevada Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Sportspeople from Las Vegas