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The 47-year-old says he may only have one year to live and is willing to try treatments to help others in future
Published Dec 12, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 2 minute read
jason collins
NBA Player Jason Collins speaks onstage during the 9th Annual GLSEN Respect Awards at Beverly Hills Hotel on October 18, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for GLSEN)
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The National Basketball Association’s first openly gay player, Jason Collins, says he may only have one year to live due to his brain cancer.
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In an interview with ESPN, the former NBA star said he has Stage 4 glioblastoma, a type of cancer that attacks healthy tissue in the brain or spinal cord.
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In September, Collins’ family announced that the 47-year-old had a brain tumour. Collins said he first started suffering from symptoms in the summer and tried to fight through them at first.
Things became more concerning in August after Collins said he couldn’t focus while packing for a trip to the U.S. Open with his husband, film producer Brunson Green.
A CT scan revealed Collins had Stage 4 glioblastoma. Collins said it had already spread in both hemispheres of his brain.
Possible treatments?
It’s impossible to remove the cancer without “coming out of the surgery ‘different,'” he said.
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“Because my tumour is unresectable, going solely with the ‘standard of care’ — radiation and TMZ — the average prognosis is only 11 to 14 months,” said Collins, per ESPN.
“If that’s all the time I have left, I’d rather spend it trying a course of treatment that might one day be a new standard of care for everyone.”
Collins said he’s financially set thanks to his NBA career, noting he’s willing to travel anywhere in the world to seek treatment.
Compares the diagnosis to coming out
At the end of the 2012-13 NBA season, Collins came out as gay in an article he penned for Sports Illustrated. He became the first openly gay NBA player in 2014.
Collins compared coming out to his current cancer battle. He said in both instances, he might be able to help people he has never met.
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“After I came out, someone I really respect told me that my choice to live openly could help someone who I might never meet,” said Collins. I’ve held onto that for years. And if I can do that again now, then that matters.”
How the tumour affects him
As a moment of inspiration, Collins recalled a time he fell down while at home, noting the tumour was “clearly affecting my brain by then.”
While it was a scary ordeal, Collins said he didn’t want to be “like Elvis on the toilet,” referring to how Elvis Presley was found dead in his bathroom in 1977. He told himself he was going to figure out how to “solve this puzzle” of getting up after the fall.
“If I don’t panic, I will figure this out,” he said. “I will get myself up.
“You’re reading this now because I eventually got myself up and figured it out. Anyone who knows me knows not to underestimate me on this, either.”
Career highlights
Collins began his NBA career in 2001 after being the No. 18 overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the NBA draft. He never put on a Rockets jersey as he was soon traded to the New Jersey Nets.
In his 13-season career, Collins has played for six different teams. He last played for the Brooklyn Nets before retiring in 2014.
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