Nick Collison, who played in one NBA Finals during his 15 seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, wore an NBA champions hat and T-shirt while watching current Thunder players celebrate the franchise’s first title in a Paycom Center locker room Monday night in OKC.
“It feels good. It’s all these guys, though,” former Kansas Jayhawks first-team All-America forward Collison said after OKC’s 103-91 victory over Indiana in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Collison currently is special assistant to the team’s executive vice president/general manager, Sam Presti.
“It’s their time,” added Collison. He was part of the 2012 Thunder team that fell to the Miami Heat in five games in the championship series. “I’m happy to be part of it. (These are) really good dudes. They do it the right way, so I’m really happy for them.”
Now 44, Collison, nicknamed “Mr. Thunder” by former Thunder standout Kevin Durant, was asked by OKC FM radio station 107.7 if this title means a lot to him considering his history and longevity with the franchise.
“Yes, for sure,” Collison said. “I’m always proud of the Thunder, proud to be part of the Thunder. I’m happy for the fans. It’s been a long road for everybody (since moving to OKC from Seattle in 2008). It’s pretty special.”
Collison was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 12th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft and retired as a member of the Thunder in 2018. His jersey No. 4 remains the only jersey hanging in the rafters of OKC’s arena.
“It’s all them, man,” Collison said, deflecting any credit directed his way by the radio station reporter. “I try to help when I can. Mark (Daigneault, head coach) and I have conversations sometimes. I really appreciate him allowing me to discuss what’s going on with the team, to be part of it. It’s a lot of fun.”
He’s eager to remain a part of the front office after an NBA career in which he reportedly earned about $60 million. Collison appeared in 910 regular season games for the Thunder, averaging 5.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1 assist per game. At the time of his retirement in 2018, he was ranked fourth in Thunder history in assists (638) and blocks (258), fifth in rebounds (2,561), and sixth in steals (296) and points (2,846).
“It’s great. It’s cool to have a home in the NBA, to be part of something,” said Collison, an Iowa Falls, Iowa native who played at KU from 2000 to 2003. He was 2003 Big 12 player of the year and a first-team All-American.
His former college coach, Roy Williams, surprised Collison by attending a 2018 Thunder home playoff game during his final postseason with the team as an NBA player.
“One of the finest young men I’ve ever coached in my entire life,” Williams told oklahoman.com. “One of the finest young men on the face of the earth. A great competitor, a kid that I was lucky enough to coach, and I was lucky enough to have stay for four years and just enjoy.
“I never had a kid that was more focused. I never had a kid that was more into the team and how the team was doing well. I just came out to that first playoff game to tell him how much I loved him, how much I enjoyed coaching him.”
The 6-foot-10 power forward in four years at KU (2000-2003) had career averages of 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. He averaged 18.5 points and 10.0 rebounds a game his senior year (2002-03). Collison was the NABC player of the year his final season as a Jayhawk. Collison’s KU jersey No. 4 was hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters at halftime of the KU-Michigan State game on Nov. 25, 2003.
Collison, by the way, is one of two individuals affiliated with the Thunder with KU ties. GM Presti is married to former KU basketball manager Shannon O’Connor, who does a lot of work in the OKC community on behalf of the Thunder.