Nick Collison is the greatest Oklahoma City Thunder big man of all-time. His role has changed over the years, but he’s been a constant since the team relocated. He’s one of the two remaining “founding fathers” of the franchise.
2016-17 Nick Collison didn’t have much of an impact on the court. He played only 6.4 minutes per game, averaging less than two points and two rebounds per game. However, his per-36 numbers were pretty good. Had Collison played 36 minutes per game, he would have averaged 9.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. What I’m trying to say is, ‘Slick’ Nick should have played 36 minutes per game.
More Nick Collison would have meant more bounce passes, more fake bounce passes that lead to Collison dunks, and more hustle plays. I tried to find video of all of this, but Billy Donovan has scrubbed the internet clean of Nick Collison highlights so people like me don’t search for them in order to say, “I told you Nick Collison should be playing more.”
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It wasn’t about on-court impact for Collison. He’s not a selfish guy who cares about highlights and numbers. He just wants to make the team better. And the OKC Thunder were a team with plenty of big men. Prior to the season, they had Steven Adams, Enes Kanter, Domantas Sabonis, and Ersan Ilyasova The latter (Ilyasova) was then traded for Jerami Grant, who mainly played at power forward, and then the team acquired Taj Gibson. That’s a lot of big men, most of whom were under the age of 25.
How did they get so good? It’s because they listened to ‘Father’ Nick. Any improvement you saw out of Adams, Kanter, Sabonis, or any other big man was due to the advice of Collison. And if any player took a step back, it’s because they didn’t listen to Nick Collison. I’m 100 percent certain that Collison told Enes Kanter, “don’t punch that chair.” But Kanter didn’t listen. We all saw the end result.
In MVP-campaign videos for Russell Westbrook, Collison had no issues playing the whipping boy of Adams and Kanter.
We invited ⚡️🎅 over to talk about our favorite guy, the MVP, Russell Westbrook. #MVP #MVP #MVP #hist0ry #ThePeoplesChamp #KingofthePrairie pic.twitter.com/CmEGNGw9up
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) April 4, 2017
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Collison was a treasure for the team off the court. He taught every big man everything they know and he was the MVP of the MVP’s MVP campaign video.
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Along with being an under-utilized player on the court, a mentor in practice, and a good sport in viral videos; ‘Saint’ Nick was a franchise leader. With the trade of Serge Ibaka and the departure of that one guy, it left only Westbrook to shoulder the load. But there’s no doubt in my mind that he didn’t get advice from Collison. Remember, it’s Nick’s Halloween party every year that brings the team together prior to the season.
What does ‘Calm’ Collison’s future hold? Well, he’s a free agent this offseason and he wants to continue to play. That makes it sound like he could leave Oklahoma City. But I’d be surprised if he does leave. He’s not going to find many teams who will use him in an on-court role. If he wants to go ring chasing, he only has two options, and that one option is going to depress Thunder fans even more.