Nick Collison named best Thunder teammate

Nick Collison continues to prove why he is Mr. OKC Thunder.

There’s a reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder keep bringing Nick Collison back. The NBA Player’s Association released their Players Voice Awards for the 2016-2017 season – that included the Best Teammate on every team in the Association.

The winner for the Thunder? Nick Collison.

As the title of the awards state, they were voted on by the players. That’s why it doesn’t come as a surprise that Collison won this award for Oklahoma City. At any given moment the 36-year old can be seen coaching up a young player on the bench or dapping up teammates during timeouts. Simply put, he’s everything you want from a non-rotational player.

Collison is returning for his tenth season in Oklahoma City and 14th year in the league. His best season came during the last iteration of the SuperSonics, when he averaged 9.8 points and 9.4 rebounds a game.

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Some may wonder why the Thunder would want to keep an older player like Collison around, especially when there are far better players around the world waiting for their chance. This award is the only explanation that’s needed.

15 players make every NBA roster, but most rotations hover around 10 guys a game. Once the playoffs hit, that number can shrink down to 8. That means nearly 1/2 the roster is “useless” come the postseason. Keeping locker room guys like Collison around keeps the morale high during tough losses. Throw in his high basketball IQ and Oklahoma City essentially has an extra assistant coach.

Kudos to Nick Collison for everything he does for the Thunder. Now let’s see if they can win him a ring.