Jazz's John Collins Joins Elite Company With Interesting Stat

The Utah Jazz forward has been an anchor of consistency.
Jan 4, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA;  Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) has his shot altered by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Jan 4, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) has his shot altered by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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The Utah Jazz have had an up-and-down 2024-25 NBA campaign. Through nearly half the season, the Jazz are one of five teams not to put together over 10 wins, placing them at the bottom of the league standings and effectively looking ahead to this offseason's draft lottery rather than the playoffs.

However, even through the turbulence, the Jazz have still had some strong points to take note of throughout a bumpy season. One of those appealing aspects of Utah's season has been the play of John Collins, and his improvement during his second year in a Jazz uniform.

Collins has seen some noticeable improvements for his average in points, assists, steals, and three-point percentage since his first season in Salt Lake City, remaining as one of the focal points for this Jazz unit on both sides of the floor.

However, it's nothing new for Collins to be one of the top contributors for an NBA roster, whether for the Jazz or his previous home with the Atlanta Hawks. A stat revealed by The Lead on X shows that Collins places next to some impressive names when looking at players who have had seasons of averaging 15+ points alongside a shooting percentage of 61%+.

Collins ties alongside MVP-caliber players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and even LeBron James with six seasons with those impressive averages. And with a current mark of 63.2% in true shooting this year, he's well on pace to make it happen by the end of this year as well.

Collins had one season where he failed to reach these lofty heights, that being his final season with the Hawks where he had a career-low in points and true shooting percentage. Yet, since his move to Utah, Will Hardy has gotten the most out of his veteran big man, and has revitalized his career after things began to look bleak in Atlanta two years ago.

The future of Collins in Salt Lake City remains uncertain. He's got a player option to decide on later this season worth $26.5 million, and could be on his way out even earlier at the trade deadline if an opposing team wants to bring in his services. Though, while he remains with the Jazz, expect Collins to be a consistent pillar to lean on in the frontcourt alongside Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler.


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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the Associate Editor of The Frozen Rope — SI.com's team website covering the Utah Jazz. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, also being the Managing Editor of Inside The Kings — SI.com's team website covering the Sacramento Kings.