Jason Collins is gone at 47, and the basketball world feels a little quieter in a way that statistics and highlight reels can’t quite measure.
The family of Jason Collins confirmed his death from brain cancer, sharing a statement through the NBA that reads like both a farewell and a reminder of how much he carried, even off the court:
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” the family said in a statement through the NBA.
“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
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A Fight Against Glioblastoma
Collins had been living with Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. In his own ESPN essay, he laid it out with the same blunt clarity he once used to defend a pick-and-roll against prime NBA bigs: the timeline was short, the odds were worse, and he was still going to fight.
He traveled to Singapore for experimental treatment, briefly pushed back against the disease, and even returned in public—showing up at NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles and a game at Stanford University, where his basketball story first started taking shape. Then the cancer returned.
He died at home in Florida, surrounded by family. Just days earlier, he had been too ill to attend a ceremony in Cleveland where he was still honored—absent, but very much present in spirit. His twin brother accepted on his behalf.
Jarron Collins said at the event:
“I told my brother this before I came here: He’s the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known.”
From NBA Journeyman to Historic First
Collins’ legacy in basketball is already well documented: Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics, Wizards, then a return to Brooklyn before retiring in 2014. But his place in sports history was sealed in 2013, when he became the first active player in one of North America’s major men’s leagues to come out as gay. At the time, it wasn’t framed as spectacle. It was framed as truth.
He later reflected on it in an ESPN interview:
“When I chose to come out, there was no scandal or anything,” Collins told ESPN in November. “This was like, I feel that I am good enough to play in the NBA and by the way, I’m gay. Just so everyone knows cards on the table, this is where I am.
“Thankfully the Nets were the one team that gave me a tryout.”
That tryout turned into 22 games, a rotation role alongside stars like Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson.
The Weight of Coming Out While Still Playing
Collins also described the surreal aftermath of coming out:
“When I did come out publicly, it was interesting, it was very rare, but I got back-to-back calls from Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama,” Collins said in that November interview with ESPN. “President Obama said ‘Congratulations — what you’ve done today will have a positive impact on someone you might not ever meet in your lifetime.’
“I think that’s a really cool thing and I want to do that again as far as having an opportunity to help someone that I might not ever meet in my lifetime.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver later reflected on his legacy:
“Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
A Stanford Star and a Steady Presence
At Stanford, Collins still holds a record for shooting efficiency, a reminder of how polished his game was long before the spotlight shifted to his personal life. Former coach Mike Montgomery described him as “big, smart, strong and skilled,” and also “a very bright and nice person.”
He was selected 18th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft and built a 13-year career defined less by headlines and more by reliability—doing the work, filling the role, staying ready.
Love, Family, and the Life Jason Built
Off the court, Collins built a life with film producer Brunson Green, marrying in 2025, just months before his illness worsened.
RELATED: A Slam Dunk for Love: NBA’s Jason Collins Marries Brunson Green
Even in his ESPN reflections after diagnosis, he approached it the same way he approached basketball: study it, understand it, then face it directly.
“A Giant” in the LGBTQ+ Movement
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, called him “a giant” in the movement:
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” Robinson said in a statement.
“He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation. He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
A Legacy That Stays
Jason Collins didn’t just make history—he lived inside it, then kept living beyond it, long after the headlines moved on. He is survived by his husband Brunson Green, his parents Portia and Paul Collins, and his twin brother Jarron Collins.
What remains now is not just what he did, but how steadily he did it—through visibility, illness, and everything in between.