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Doug Collins (basketball)

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Doug Collins
Collins coaching the Philadelphia 76ers in 2010
Personal information
Born (1951-07-28) July 28, 1951 (age 73)
Christopher, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolBenton (Benton, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois State (1970–1973)
NBA draft1973: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1973–1981
PositionShooting guard
Number20
Coaching career1981–1989, 1995–2003, 2010–2013
Career history
As player:
1973–1981Philadelphia 76ers
As coach:
1981–1982Penn (assistant)
1982–1984Arizona State (assistant)
1986–1989Chicago Bulls
1995–1998Detroit Pistons
2001–2003Washington Wizards
2010–2013Philadelphia 76ers
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career playing statistics
Points7,427 (17.9 ppg)
Rebounds1,339 (3.2 rpg)
Assists1,368 (3.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Career coaching record
NBA442–407 (.521)
Record at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1972 Munich Team

Paul Douglas Collins (born July 28, 1951) is an American basketball executive, former player, coach and television analyst in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1973 to 1981 for the Philadelphia 76ers, earning four NBA All-Star selections. He then became an NBA coach in 1986, and had stints coaching the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. Collins also served as an analyst for various NBA-related broadcast shows.[1] He is a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award. In April 2024, Collins was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2024 by the Contributors Committee.[2]

Early life

[edit]
Collins as a sophomore at Illinois State

Collins was born in Christopher, Illinois.[3] He grew up in Benton, Illinois, where his next-door neighbor was future film star John Malkovich. Collins enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Benton Consolidated High School under coach Rich Herrin.

College career

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Collins went on to play for Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, coached from 1970 by Will Robinson, the first black head coach in NCAA Division I.[4]

Professional career

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Philadelphia 76ers (1973–1981)

[edit]

Collins was drafted first overall in the 1973 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played eight seasons for Philadelphia, and was an NBA All-Star four times. In the 1976–77 season, he joined Julius Erving leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers.[citation needed]

A series of injuries[5] to his feet and left knee beginning in 1979 would end Collins' career in 1981. In all, he played 415 NBA games, scoring 7,427 points (17.9 per game).

Coaching career

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After his retirement, Collins turned to coaching. He joined Bob Weinhauer's staff at Penn as an assistant coach and later followed Weinhauer to Arizona State for the same job.[6] He resigned from Arizona State on July 7, 1984, to become a CBS television commentator.[7]

Chicago Bulls (1986–1989)

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In May 1986, Collins was named head coach of the Chicago Bulls;[8] the team featured a young Michael Jordan who was entering his third season. Despite having Jordan, the Bulls were coming off a 30–52 season and had fired their past two coaches after one season each.[9]

Collins immediately helped the Bulls turn their fortunes around, showing an improvement of 10 games in each of his first two seasons, coaching Chicago to a 50–32 record in his second year. In his third year as coach, he brought Chicago to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 15 years;[10] however, they were unable to get past their Central Division rival, the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons. Despite the Bulls' success and his popularity in Chicago, Collins was fired in the summer of 1989.[11]

Detroit Pistons (1995–1998)

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Collins was named the head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1995. His results on arrival in Detroit were similar to those in Chicago, as the Pistons had a second-year star who drew comparisons to Michael Jordan, Grant Hill. In his first season, he was able to improve the team's previous season's record by 18 games and lead them back to the playoffs, though they would be swept by the Orlando Magic.[12]

A fast start in his second season pushed Hill to the top of MVP consideration and Collins was named the Eastern Conference All-Star team's coach.[13] The highlight of the year for Collins came on April 13, when the Pistons defeated the defending champion Bulls to end Detroit's 19-game losing streak against Chicago.[14] (Incidentally Collins ended a Chicago losing streak against the Pistons in the 80's.)[15] The Pistons finished 54–28 and lost in the first round of playoffs to the Atlanta Hawks, 3–2 in the best-of-five series.

Collins served as Pistons' head coach until February 2, 1998, when he was fired and replaced by Alvin Gentry. Collins then became a television broadcaster, working for many years at various networks, such as NBC on the NBA on NBC and TNT on the NBA on TNT.

Washington Wizards (2001–2003)

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Collins worked as a broadcaster for about three years before being hired to coach the Washington Wizards for the start of the 2001–02 NBA season. In Washington, Collins was reunited with Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley. Once again, in his first season with his new team, Collins improved the team's previous season's record by 18 games.[16] Though his .451 winning percentage through two seasons was better than the Wizards' .308 record the previous two seasons (and subsequent .305 record the following season),[16] Collins was fired at the conclusion of the 2002–03 season.

Philadelphia 76ers (2010–2013)

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Collins speaks with Andre Miller in 2014

On May 21, 2010, Collins was hired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.[17] While the 76ers initially started out poorly with a record of 3–13, the team showed great improvement as the season went on, and clinched the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. Under Collins, the team increased its win total by 14 games over the previous season. They lost to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in the first round, but were able to avoid a sweep that had been predicted. Collins finished second in Coach of the Year voting that season.[18]

In the lockout-shortened 2011–2012 season, Collins led the Sixers to an improved record, but Philadelphia was only able to take the eighth seed in the playoffs. Against the top seeded Chicago Bulls, Collins led the Sixers to their first playoff series victory since 2003. It was the fifth time in NBA history that an eighth seed defeated a first seed in a playoff series. They took the next series against the Boston Celtics to seven games, but lost.

Collins resigned as 76ers coach on April 18, 2013, citing a need to spend more time with his five grandchildren.[19][20] It was announced that he would stay with the team as an adviser.[21]

National team career

[edit]

Collins represented the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. Those basketball games are remembered mainly for the controversial gold medal basketball game between the United States and the Soviet Union, in which Collins played a key part. He made the two go-ahead free throws that should had won the game. However: The final 3 seconds of the game after the free throws were replayed due to a timing error, which let USSR to make the decisive shot. The game altering events let to the US team boycotting the medal ceremony altogether.[22][23][24]

In 2008, with Doug as part of NBC Sports' TV coverage of basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing his son, Chris Collins as the assistant coach for the 2008 "Redeem Team", Doug used his heartbreak in 1972 to fuel the team to win gold medal. He was also invited to join the team on the Gold Medal ceremony.[24] He was part of the cast for Netflix's The Redeem Team in 2022.

Broadcasting career

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Collins started doing work for CBS in the mid-1980s, calling mostly playoff games. He also was the lead color analyst for the local broadcasts of the 76ers' games during the 1985–86 season. In-between his various coaching stints he has done broadcasting work for CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN. He also called games for the New York Knicks during the 2003–04 season on MSG Network on a part-time basis, paired with Marv Albert.[25]

After being fired by the Wizards, Collins returned to announcing games for TNT. In addition, he served as an analyst for NBC Sports' TV coverage of basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[26] He also was a basketball analyst for NBC during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[27]

During this time, Collins's name surfaced several times regarding head coaching vacancies. In 2005, he was a candidate for the Milwaukee Bucks job but was passed over for Terry Stotts.[28] Collins was approached by the team again in 2008 to serve as their GM and coach but turned them down again.[28] In May 2008, Collins was in negotiations to coach the Chicago Bulls, nearly 20 years after he was fired from the team.[29] However, Collins withdrew his name when he and owner Jerry Reinsdorf "agreed it wasn't the best to keep going this way," in light of their close personal friendship.[30]

Executive career

[edit]

Chicago Bulls (2017–present)

[edit]

On September 19, 2017, the Chicago Bulls announced that Collins had joined the team as senior advisor of basketball operations.[31]

Personal life

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Collins and his wife Kathy have two children. They reside in the Delaware Valley. Their son Chris, a former Duke University basketball player, is the head basketball coach at Northwestern University and their daughter Kelly, who played basketball at Lehigh University, is a school teacher in Pennsylvania.

Awards and honors

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Illinois State University's basketball court is named after Collins (Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena). A statue depicting Collins and his ISU coach, Will Robinson, was unveiled on September 19, 2009, outside the north entrance of Redbird Arena.

Collins was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois on June 19, 2021.[32]

NBA career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1973–74 Philadelphia 25 — 17.4 .371 — .764 1.8 1.6 .5 .1 8.0
1974–75 Philadelphia 81 — 34.8 .488 — .844 3.9 2.6 1.3 .2 17.9
1975–76 Philadelphia 77 — 38.9 .513 — .836 4.0 2.5 1.4 .3 20.8
1976–77 Philadelphia 58 — 35.1 .518 — .840 3.4 4.7 1.2 .3 18.3
1977–78 Philadelphia 79 — 35.1 .526 — .812 2.9 4.1 1.6 .3 19.7
1978–79 Philadelphia 47 — 33.9 .499 — .814 2.6 4.1 1.1 .4 19.5
1979–80 Philadelphia 36 — 26.8 .466 .000 .911 2.6 2.8 .8 .2 13.8
1980–81 Philadelphia 12 — 27.4 .492 — .828 2.4 3.5 .6 .3 12.3
Career 415 — 33.6 .501 .000 .833 3.2 3.3 1.2 .3 17.9
All-Star 3 1 22.7 .458 — .800 4.3 5.7 2.0 .0 11.3

Playoffs

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1976 Philadelphia 3 — 39.0 .434 — .857 7.0 3.3 1.0 .3 19.3
1977 Philadelphia 19 — 39.9 .557 — .740 4.2 3.9 1.5 .2 22.4
1978 Philadelphia 10 — 34.2 .497 — .816 3.1 2.7 .3 .0 20.4
Career 32 — 38.1 .526 — .855 4.1 3.5 1.1 .1 21.5

Head coaching record

[edit]
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Chicago 1986–87 82 40 42 .488 5th in Central 3 0 3 .000 Lost in First round
Chicago 1987–88 82 50 32 .610 2nd in Central 10 4 6 .400 Lost in Conference semifinals
Chicago 1988–89 82 47 35 .573 5th in Central 17 9 8 .529 Lost in Conference finals
Detroit 1995–96 82 46 36 .561 4th in Central 3 0 3 .000 Lost in First round
Detroit 1996–97 82 54 28 .659 3rd in Central 5 2 3 .400 Lost in First round
Detroit 1997–98 45 21 24 .467 (fired) — — — — —
Washington 2001–02 82 37 45 .451 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 2002–03 82 37 45 .451 5th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Philadelphia 2010–11 82 41 41 .500 3rd in Atlantic 5 1 4 .200 Lost in First round
Philadelphia 2011–12 66 35 31 .530 3rd in Atlantic 13 7 6 .538 Lost in Conference semifinals
Philadelphia 2012–13 82 34 48 .415 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Career 849 442 407 .521   56 23 33 .411  

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ex-76ers coach Doug Collins joins ESPN as analyst". ESPN.com. October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  2. ^ " Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 13 inductees for Class of 2024", NBA.com, April 6, 2024 accessed April 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Tribune, Chicago (2016). The Chicago Tribune Book of the Chicago Bulls: A Decade-by-Decade History. Agate. ISBN 9781572847835.
  4. ^ "Legendary Coach Robinson Passes Away: Robinson was the first African American coach in NCAA history." Archived July 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine www.goredbirds.com, April 28, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  5. ^ "Doug Collins' Career Highlights". Chicago Tribune. May 21, 1986.
  6. ^ "Philadelphia 76ers Name Doug Collins Head Coach – 5/21/2010", NBA.com, May 25, 2010 accessed June 5, 2010.
  7. ^ "Arizona State University assistant basketball coach Doug Collins has..." UPI. July 7, 1984. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Bulls Sign Collins For 2 Years". chicagotribune.com. May 23, 1986.
  9. ^ "'Stunned' Albeck Fired". Chicago Tribune. May 20, 1986.
  10. ^ "BULLS: History of the Chicago Bulls". Nba.com. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  11. ^ "Despite Bulls' Success, They Fire Doug Collins". Associated Press. July 7, 1989. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  12. ^ "Grant Hill played for new Sixers coach Collins and recommends him highly". www.philly.com. May 24, 2010. Archived from the original on June 29, 2010.
  13. ^ Smith, Sam (May 2, 1997). "Doug Collins Making All The Right Moves". Chicago Tribune.
  14. ^ Addy, Steve; Karzen, Jeffrey F. (June 22, 2017). The Detroit Pistons: More Than Four Decades of Motor City Memories. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 9781582615530 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ "Collins' Day: Good Tie, Good Cry—and Victory". Chicago Tribune. April 14, 1997.
  16. ^ a b "76ers hire Doug Collins as head coach". InsideHoops. May 23, 1986. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  17. ^ "Philadelphia 76ers Name Doug Collins Head Coach". NBA.com. May 21, 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  18. ^ "Sixers' Doug Collins Finishes Second In NBA Coach Of The Year Voting". May 2011.
  19. ^ "Collins out as 76ers coach, takes new role". April 18, 2013.
  20. ^ Helin, Kurt (October 8, 2013). "Doug Collins says he is done coaching, the business has changed".
  21. ^ Gelston, Dan (April 18, 2013). "It's official: Doug Collins resigns as 76ers coach". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "Doug Collins gives Team USA unique perspective on Olympic hoops". www.nba.com. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  23. ^ Chicago, Classic (September 10, 2022). "The 50th Anniversary of the Most Controversial Finish in Sports History | Classic Chicago Magazine". classicchicagomagazine.com. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Netflix -The Redeem Team
  25. ^ Sandomir, Richard (September 11, 2003). "SPORTS BRIEFING: PRO BASKETBALL; Collins to Work on MSG". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  26. ^ "Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup – A blog on sports media, news and networks – baltimoresun.com". Weblogs.baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  27. ^ "Medium Well: NBC's London Olympic announcers: Who's new and who's back – usatoday.com". USA Today. June 28, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  28. ^ a b Vecsey, Peter (March 30, 2008). "Grizzly Situation". New York Post. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
  29. ^ "Bulls poised to hire Collins as Coach", ESPN, May 30, 2008 accessed December 28, 2009.
  30. ^ "Collins, Reinsdorf agree coaching search continues … minus Collins ", ESPN, June 6, 2008 accessed December 28, 2009.
  31. ^ Smith, Sam (September 19, 2017). "Collins returns to the Bulls". NBA.com. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  32. ^ The Lincoln Academy of Illinois (January 9, 2020). "56th Laureate Convocation – Chicago History Museum". Archived from the original on May 14, 2020.
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