Jason Collins, first openly gay NBA player, dead at 47 after cancer battle

Thirteen-year NBA veteran Jason Collins, a true trailblazer as the first active player in any of the four major professional sports leagues to come out as gay in 2013, passed away Tuesday following a six-month battle with brain cancer, his family announced in a statement. Collins was 47.

“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Tuesday. “He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador.

“Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others. On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.”

Collins was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and common forms of brain cancer, in late 2025 after a tumor was discovered in his brain. He’s survived by his husband, Brunson, and twin brother, Jarron, an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans.

“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” Collins’ family said in a statement released by Stanford, his alma mater. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

Jason Collins, a 7-foot center who played for seven NBA teams between 2001-14, entered the NBA as the No. 18 overall selection in the 2001 NBA Draft out of Stanford, where he still owns the school’s career record in field goal percentage at .608. Jason Collins played his first eight seasons with the New Jersey Nets before bouncing around the league over the next several years. Collins played with the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.

Following the end of the 2012-13 season, during which he was traded from the Celtics to the Wizards, Jason Collins publicly came out as gay in a first-person account posted to Sports Illustrated‘s website on April 29, 2013. The admission made him the first-ever active male sports figure to publicly identify as gay during his playing career.

Collins ended his NBA career the following season as a member of the now-Brooklyn Nets, when he signed a 10-day contract in Feb. 2014 and played 11 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the first publicly gay male athlete to play a game in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.

“It’s a sad day for all of us associated with Stanford basketball when we lose one of the program’s greats. We all have great memories of Jason and the kind of person he was,” former Cardinal head men’s basketball coach Mike Montgomery said in a statement. “It’s hard to separate Jarron and Jason because they thought so alike, but even though he was an identical twin, Jason was unique in his own way. The impact he had on Stanford was immense, as he could match up against anyone in the country because he was big, smart, strong and skilled, all while being a very bright and nice person. I’ll miss him dearly, and my heart goes out to the Collins family, because Sara and I know what it’s like to lose a child.”