The Jason Collins death was announced Tuesday, May 12, 2026, by his family in a statement released through the NBA. Collins, 47, died after an eight-month battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma — one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. He passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family. Collins made history in 2013 as the first active openly gay player in a major American professional sports league. That act of courage — quiet, deliberate, and world-changing — defined not just his legacy but the possibility of what sport could be. He is survived by his husband Brunson Green, his twin brother and former NBA player Jarron Collins, and his parents Paul and Portia Collins.
The Family Statement
The words that announced Jason Collins’ passing were chosen with the care of people who understood that they were speaking not just for a family but for a community.
Collins’ family said in a statement released through the NBA: “We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma. 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 medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.” 24/7 Wall St.
The Diagnosis: Stage 4 Glioblastoma
Collins told ESPN in November that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. Glioblastoma is an aggressive, fast-growing brain tumor with a median survival time of 12 to 18 months from diagnosis even with treatment. Stage 4 is the highest grade, meaning the tumor has the most aggressive growth characteristics. Survival beyond two years is rare. MSN
Collins chose a treatment plan that he believed would provide the best quality of life while also giving him a chance to extend his life beyond the initial prognosis. He traveled to Singapore this past winter to receive experimental treatments not yet authorized in the United States. Those treatments were effective enough for him to return home, attend NBA All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles and go to a game at his alma mater, Stanford. But the cancer returned recently, and Collins died peacefully at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family. MSN
The decision to seek experimental treatment in Singapore — to research every option, to exhaust every possibility — was characteristic of how Collins had approached every challenge in his life. Collins wrote in a first-person story published by ESPN in December: “I started researching glioblastoma and all of my options. I wanted to know everything about what I was facing. As an athlete you learn not to panic in moments like this. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. To me it’s like, ‘Shut up and go play against Shaq.’ You want the challenge? This is the challenge. And there is no bigger challenge in basketball than going up against prime Shaquille O’Neal, and I’ve done that.” MSN
The Moment That Changed Sports: April 2013
Before the illness, before the retirement, before the ambassadorship — there was a Sports Illustrated cover story in April 2013 and seven words that rewrote what was possible in American professional sports.
“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m Black. And I’m gay.” Jason Collins wrote those words himself. They ran in Sports Illustrated. They were read by athletes, coaches, executives, fans, and young people across the country who had never seen anyone who looked like them say something like that in public, at that level, about that part of themselves. letsdatascience
Jason Collins first came out in 2013, which made him the first openly gay active player in a men’s North American sports league. The weight of that distinction — first in a men’s major North American league — is significant. Collins played in a world where no one had done it before. There was no model, no roadmap, no teammate who had gone through it. He went first. Rolling Out
A 13-Year NBA Career Across 8 Teams
The story of Jason Collins’ life in basketball is longer and richer than the single moment that made him famous.
Collins retired in 2014 after a 13-year career in the NBA. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2001 out of Stanford and played for eight franchises over his career: the Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics, Wizards, Jazz, and returning to the Nets at the end. He was never a star. He was a center who played defense, set screens, took charges, and did the things that winning teams needed someone to do. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds for his career. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career. 24/7 Wall St.World Oil
Those numbers are not the point. The point is that for 13 years, Jason Collins showed up, competed, earned the respect of coaches and teammates across the league, and eventually changed sport history without anyone ever having seen it coming.
The Brooklyn Nets and the Season That Mattered Most
After his Sports Illustrated story in 2013, Collins did not play in the NBA for several months. The 2013-14 season opened with him unsigned. Then, in February 2014, the Brooklyn Nets called.
In his eight seasons in a Nets uniform, Collins helped “define an era of our franchise,” the team said in a statement. “He was a constant in our locker room — selfless, tough, and deeply respected by teammates, coaches, and staff alike. Those who were around Jason every day knew him not just as a competitor, but as a genuinely kind, thoughtful person who brought people together. His impact extended far beyond the court, and his courage and authenticity helped move the game — and the world — forward.” MSN
When Collins signed with the Nets in 2014, he became the first openly gay player to appear in an NBA regular season game. The moment was, by most accounts from those who were there, unremarkable in the best possible way. He checked in. He played. The world did not end. Sport changed.
Jarron Collins: A Brother’s Words
The tribute that has moved people most deeply this week came not from a commissioner or a franchise but from Jarron Collins — Jason’s twin brother, his Stanford teammate, his fellow NBA player, and the person who accepted the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award on his behalf just days before Jason died.
Just last week, Collins received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit. He was too ill to attend and his twin brother, former NBA player Jarron Collins, accepted for him. “I told my brother this before I came here: He’s the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known,” Jarron Collins said while accepting that award. World Oil
Jarron Collins was with Jason at Stanford. He was with him in the NBA. He was with him through the diagnosis and through everything that followed. His words at the Green Sports Alliance Summit — spoken a week before Jason passed — are the ones that will stay.
Jason Kidd, Adam Silver, and the League’s Response
Jason Kidd wrote: “This one hurts. Jason Collins was a pioneer. He had courage like you’ve never seen. He was an incredible teammate. And having him in Brooklyn at the start of my coaching journey meant so much. Those who knew him were blessed to call him a friend. You are already missed.” MSN
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement that acknowledged both dimensions of what Collins gave the league — the basketball and the history. The NBPA called it “an incredible loss for the brotherhood,” adding that Collins would be remembered “not only for the immense joy he brought to so many throughout his career, but for the genuine friendships he built far beyond basketball.”
Broader Implications: What Jason Collins Gave the World
The Jason Collins death closes a chapter of sports history while opening a permanent door that can never be closed again. What he did in April 2013 — the choice to be fully himself in public, in the middle of an active NBA career — required a form of courage that most people will never be asked to demonstrate.
He did not know what would happen. He did not know if teams would sign him. He did not know how fans would react or how locker rooms would change. He knew who he was, and he decided that the cost of hiding it was greater than the cost of saying it. The world of sport is irreversibly different because of that decision. For more coverage of the biggest stories in sports and culture, visit The Tech Marketer.
Latest Updates
The Jason Collins death was announced Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Here is where to follow the complete coverage:
- The New York Times has the full obituary for Jason Collins, the first active openly gay player in a major American professional sports league, who died at 47 after a battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma. Read more at The New York Times
- ESPN has the complete reporting on the Jason Collins death, including his first-person essay about facing glioblastoma, the experimental treatment he sought in Singapore, the Nets statement, and Jason Kidd’s tribute. Read more at ESPN
- NBA.com has the official league announcement of Jason Collins passing away at 47, including the full family statement, Commissioner Silver’s tribute, and the context of the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award he received days before his death. Read more at NBA.com
FAQ: Jason Collins Death
1. How did Jason Collins die? Jason Collins died on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, after an eight-month battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly form of brain cancer. He passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by his family.
2. Why was Jason Collins historically significant? Jason Collins was the first active openly gay player in a major men’s North American professional sports league. He came out publicly in a Sports Illustrated cover story in April 2013 while still an active NBA player, and became the first openly gay player to appear in an NBA regular season game when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2014.
3. Who survives Jason Collins? Jason Collins is survived by his husband Brunson Green, his twin brother and former NBA player Jarron Collins, and his parents Paul and Portia Collins.
4. What award did Jason Collins receive shortly before his death? Collins received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit just one week before his death. He was too ill to attend and his twin brother Jarron accepted on his behalf, saying: “He’s the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known.”
5. How long was Jason Collins’ NBA career? Jason Collins played 13 seasons in the NBA across eight franchises from 2001 to 2014, retiring after the 2013-14 season with the Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds over his career across 737 games.
