I didn’t cry, but a very real sense of sadness came over me as I watched what I assumed was Nick’s last exit interview as a Thunder player. Nick along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have been the cornerstones of what has personally been for me a lovely experience of NBA basketball in my hometown for this past decade.
Listening to Nick Collison talk NBA basketball always grounds me and brings me off my emotional cliffs I sometimes place myself on at times as a fan/rogue blogger. He grounds me because he’s smart and he knows what he’s talking about.
Nick has been my favorite Thunder player for the decade…period. This hurts, yet I’m glad Nick will now be able to spend more time with his daughter.
In the world of sports, I observe so much around me which makes me shake my head at times– but Nick is a refreshing throwback. A reminder of what things used to be like in our country as far as work ethic and pride of craft.
Nick will go down as one of my favorite all-time NBA players even though some might say his resume stat wise isn’t one which would justify that lofty of a perch from a person like me who’s been an avid NBA fan since say 1963… when I was then driving my parents crazy in our driveway pretending to be the next Billy Cunningham.
In my office/study, I have several photos of sports players who have my admiration for what they represented to me with their careers. In baseball, it’s Roberto Clemente from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In football, it’s Barry Sanders from the Detroit Lions. In hockey, I have two photos, Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque–both defensemen for the Boston Bruins. My basketball photos? It will be Maurice Cheeks from my beloved 1983 Philly 76’er team and Nick Collison from my beloved Oklahoma City Thunder team.
Nick Collison, thank you. Good luck with your life. I’ll be thinking of you as I write my little book.