Darren Collison

At 36 years old, Darren Collison has this physical status:

Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player.

He played 10 seasons with five teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He earned NBA All-Rookie Team honors in his first season in the NBA with the New Orleans Hornets. 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 6 feet (1.8 m) or under.

He was drafted by the Hornets in the first round with the 21st overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft.

Collison also played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings.

Early life

Collison was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California to parents Dennis and June Griffith, who were both elite track and field athletes for Guyana. As a senior at Etiwanda High School 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.

Personal life

Collison is the son of June and Dennis Collison. His parents were elite track and field athletes. His mother represented Guyana at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

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

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College career

In the 2005–06 season, he served as a back-up to Jordan Farmar, and he was named as the starting point guard the following season. On December 4, 2006, he was named the Best Player of the Week and again on February 18, 2007. Collison averaged 2.2 steals per game during the 2006-07 season, the most in the Pacific-10 Conference. In addition, he 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 he played in a total of 142 games at UCLA, tied for the most ever. He was selected to the All-Pac-10 team in 2008-09 after averaging 14.4 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in his senior years. He led the conference in free throw percentage and came in third in assists, robbery, and assist-to-turnover ratios. Collison received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award this year, which was given to the best college player 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or less. He and Josh Shipp were also named the Bruins' co-Most Valuable Player (MVP) along with Josh Shipp. Collison and his senior classmates Shipp and Alfred Aboya finished their careers as the best class in UCLA history with 123 victories. The difference was relative, as John Wooden's legendary teams had shorter seasons and freshmen were ineligible.

Professional career

Collison was widely regarded as one of the top point guard candidates in the 2009 NBA Draft, originating from UCLA. He was chosen by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round with the 21st overall pick.

Collison took over the starting point guard after Chris Paul was out for months at two separate times during the 2009–10 season. On January 30, 2010, when New Orleans broke Memphis' 11-game home winning streak with a 113–111 overtime victory, Collison handed out a Hornets rookie-record 18 assists and 17 points. In a 135–131 victory over the Golden State Warriors on March 8, 2010, Collison broke his own record with a Hornets rookie-record 20 assists (along with 16 points). Collison's second rookie of the 2009-10 season had 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in a game against the Indiana Pacers on February 19, 2010. He finished fourth in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and averaged 18.8 points and 9.1 assists in 37 games as a starter, but he lost four turnovers in his first NBA debut as a starter.

The Hornets cut Collison and James Posey to the Indiana Pacers in a four-team, five-player contract that also sent Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets, Trevor Ariza to the Houston Rockets, and Courtney Lee to the Houston Rockets.

Collison and Dahntay Jones were traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Ian Mahinmi on July 12, 2012. Collison was the Mavericks' starting point guard, replacing Jason Kidd, who left as a free agent. Collison was a key contributor in Dallas' 4–1 start in 2012–13, but the team later fell 8 of their next 11. Collison came off the bench for one game after starting the team's first 14 games. He missed the next game with a sprained right middle finger, prompting Dallas to a free agent. Derek Fisher was signed by Derek Fisher. Fisher started his Mavericks debut in his first game, while Collison remained a reserve. He regained his starting job 14 games later, on December 27, 2012.

Collison announced a 2013 contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on July 10, 2013. Chris Paul, who was also on the Clippers, was backed up once more by him. Collison started and averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 assists in 32.6 minutes when Paul was out 18 games due to an injured shoulder. In that span, the Clippers defeated Collison 6-6, and coach Doc Rivers said the team "weathered the storm" without their All-Star point guard; Collison's play "the key" was the team's. The Clippers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs, defeating the team by 22 points to tie the series at 2–2 as Collison scored 12 of his 18 points in the final quarter to help the team win by 101–99.

Collison signed a three-year, $16 million contract with the Sacramento Kings on July 12, 2014. The Kings gave him a starting position as a point guard, but the Clippers were unable to match either the agreement or the playing time.

Collison defeated the New York Knicks by 227 points and 10 assists in a 135-129 overtime victory on December 27, 2014. He was out for three to six weeks with a right hip flexor on February 26, 2015. Collison was suspended for the first eight games of the 2016-17 season after pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery.

Collison signed with the Indiana Pacers on July 7, 2017, marking his return to the franchise for the second time. He underwent knee surgery in early February 2018 and returned to the Pacers' lineup in mid-March. Collison led the league with a career-best 47% 3-point shooting percentage in 2017-18 after gradually improving his three-point shooting during his career.

Collison had 17 assists in his 109-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on December 10, 2018, his highest single-game total with Indiana. He ended the 2018-2019 season with an average of 11 points and six assists.

Collison resigned from basketball on June 28, 2019. For his resignation, a Jehovah's Witness cited religious reasons. He was predicted to receive multiple contract offers over $10 million per season.

Collison came out of retirement on December 24, 2021, after joining the Los Angeles Lakers on a 10-day deal.

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

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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
• 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.
• 2009 UCLA Bruins co-MVP (along with Josh Shipp)