Jason Collins wrapped up his 13-season NBA career as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in 2014.
Jason Collins wrapped up his 13-season NBA career as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in 2014.Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press
Jason Collins, the 13-year NBA veteran who spent a season with the Celtics and was the first openly gay player in American pro sports, announced Thursday that he has Stage 4 glioblastoma.
The 47-year-old Collins made the admission to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
This fall, when Jason Collins was given a terminal brain cancer diagnosis, his twin brother Jarron said to him, “You have to fight.” Jason nodded. “I know how to do that.” I have the privilege of helping @jasoncollins98 tell his story. https://t.co/2uTFa98mCl
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) December 11, 2025
The diagnosis comes months after his family announced Collins was dealing with a brain tumor. After suffering from symptoms over the summer, a CT scan revealed the glioblastoma — the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.
Collins said his case is a “wild type” that grows aggressively and is incredibly difficult to treat. He admitted that his tumor cannot be operated on, and therefore his prognosis is only 11-14 months.
Drugs and radiation treatment had immediate positive results — Collins regained the ability to walk after his third treatment, he said. He also said he’s going to actively try and fight the disease.
“We aren’t going to sit back and let this cancer kill me without giving it a hell of a fight,” Collins told ESPN. “We’re going to try to hit it first, in ways it’s never been hit: with radiation and chemotherapy and immunotherapy that’s still being studied but offers the most promising frontier of cancer treatment for this type of cancer.”
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Collins said he is drawing from his experience of coming out in 2013, hoping the acknowledgement of his condition and the fight that he is in will help people he has never met.
“After I came out, someone I really respect told me that my choice to live openly could help someone who I might never meet,” Collins said. “I’ve held onto that for years. And if I can do that again now, then that matters.”
Collins, the 18th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Rockets, spent eight of his 13 seasons with the Nets. He played a portion of the 2012-13 season with the Celtics, appearing in 32 games before being dealt with Leandro Barbosa to the Wizards for Jordan Crawford on Feb. 21, 2013.
Collins averaged 3.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game in 735 games.
He is the latest well-known person to announce a glioblastoma diagnosis, along with singer Michael Bolton. People of note who have died of the disease include former US Senators Ted Kennedy and John McCain, Rush drummer Neil Peart, and actors Robert Forester and Tim Conway.