Nick is my favorite Thunder player of all-time. Russell is second and then Kevin….then Steven, then Andre…then maybe Perk since our family has a lab named after him.
Keep in mind Nick was a Big 12 Player of the Year winner at Kansas under Coach Roy Williams. He was an early first round pick.
But from the moment he joined the Seattle organization he was a role player. But a role player with a significant role as the Thunder teams emerged in Oklahoma City.
His basketball smarts are off the chart. He’s articulate and I think he’s an astute judge of the human element as to what goes into successful team building.
You can tell he’s the son of a basketball coach. He’s one of those guys who could make players around him better. A great interior passer, a fierce rebounder, an occasional scorer.
Some of the best pure basketball plays in the Thunder decade of relevance originated from a Nick Collison pass.
What I hope Nick brings to the Thunder table is a combination of smarts, character, mental toughness, professionalism, and someone who will work with the local media and make the Thunder a more open and inclusive organization.
I hope he has significant impact on the way the team is constructed.
You will never hear one gotcha question from the local media because their respect for Nick Collison is fairly obvious.
Same with me. You can scroll through my entire content on this blog and you won’t find one snarky comment. Not one.
Welcome back, Nick Collison.
Your organization needs you.
My favorite Nick Collison play?
This one as a youngster in Seattle as he hauls down All-Star Yao Ming and doesn’t allow the dunk. It wasn’t dirty. Just a hard-nosed basketball play at the rim. Then of course as a rookie he tells Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady to ‘go fuck himself.’
You had me at hello, buddy.
You can’t teach this as a coach.
This is what I mean when I allude to my metric chart of Toughnesss, Smarts, Snarl, and Nasty. It is my hope at some point we acquire Tyler Herro and Nick teaches him how to play basketball the right way…because I love Tyler’s snarl and they’re wasting him in Miami.