John Collins Is Having An Offensive Resurgence In Utah

As the regular season is slowly wrapping up, it’s time to look at some players – and teams – who won’t be participating in the NBA Playoffs.

John Collins is about to end his second season with the Utah Jazz, if he hasn’t already. The 6’9 forward is out with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since March 12th. While he’s practicing with the team, no official word has yet come in regards to his return.

The former Hawks forward has seen a bit of a career resurgence, in terms of offensive volume, despite being in and out of the lineup all year due to injuries, being limited to 40 games so far.

Getting back to scoring

Collins, who used to run the floor with Trae Young, had plenty of solid seasons in Atlanta, including one in which he averaged over 21 points and 10 rebounds, all while canning over 58% of his shots, including 40.1% from downtown.

To many, Collins looked like a future All-Star who would practically sleepwalk his way into a steady 20/10 line for as long as he played next to Young.

Instead, Collins saw his numbers decline – and heavily so – during the following three years with the Hawks, to point where his last season with the franchise saw him score just 13.1 points per game, and be viewed as a complete afterthought within the offense.

In 2023, Collins was moved to Utah, and while he saw just a modest uptick in scoring last season, he’s come back into the swing of things this year when he’s been available.

Collins is averaging 19 points per game, and is draining 39.9% of his three-point attempts, while seeing an uptick in free throw attempts.

The 27-year-old has admittedly played on a team in which top-tier talent hasn’t been particularly available, but that’s sprinkled in a new, and interesting, pattern of self-creation.

Collins has never created more shots off his own afford as he has this season, with only 64.7% of his two’s being assisted, compared to previous seasons where that number has found itself in the high 70’s.

Yes, the sample size is smaller than you’d want it to be, and spread out over just half a season, but that’s where the numbers and eye-test go hand-in-hand.

Collins is finding more gaps in the defense than before, and looks far more comfortable putting the ball on the floor than ever before.

This breaks a pattern of him being almost exclusively a play finisher, which was the case in Atlanta.

What does this mean for his future?

As far as Collins’ future goes, it’s tough to say. Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler are still around in Utah, and eventually Taylor Hendricks will make his return from a fractured right fibula.

That means more competition for the big man minutes, and with Utah likely having an eye on the future, Collins could find himself as the odd man out.

He’s attached to a contract which compensates him at a rate of $26.5 million in 2025-2026, assuming he picks up his player option.

After the season he’s having, in regards to finding his own rhythm again, it’s not a forgone conclusion he picks it up, although the market almost dictates a need to do so, with so few teams projecting to have any meaningful cap space.

Perhaps the Jazz would like him to stick, or perhaps Collins and them agree to find a trade that makes sense for both parties.

Regardless of the outcome, Collins certainly used his opportunity this year to make some much-need, and long-awaited, noise for himself.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.