5 Best and Most Notable Games From Nick Collison’s 15-Year Sonics-Thunder Career

Nick Collison — one of the true good guys in the NBA — is hanging up his sneakers after 15 solid seasons in the NBA. After spending all his years with the same franchise, he teamed up with Royce Young to say his farewells. He was always a hard worker, and one of my favorite moments all seasons is when Russell Westbrook brought him out for OKC’s fans to show love. It was incredible.

What younger folks don’t know, however, is that Collison could ball in his heyday. I was in high school when he was with Kansas and I remember he was always a guy I wanted to play like. It’s a sad day, for sure, but one we knew was coming. He’ll probably end up with a nice front-office job somewhere — hopefully with OKC — and have a great post-NBA career. But before we think about that, let’s look at some of his best and most notable games in the NBA.

May 5th, 2003

This game was significant because it was his first-ever closeout game in a playoff series. Guess what? Collison and the Sonics got it done with a four-point win over Sacramento.

Collison statline: 6-for-6 with 15 points and 9 rebounds

January 9th, 2007

This game was the start of Collison’s best three-game stretch in the NBA. In this game, he poured in a career-high 29 points (and 21 boards), followed by a 21-point and 25-point performance. Later in the season he had stretch of consecutive 20-point games. He never did it again in his NBA career.

Collison statline: 12-for-18 with 29 points and 21 rebounds.

May 15th, 2011

The season before the Thunder broke through and made the NBA Finals, they had a deep run in the playoffs that was eventually ended by the Mavericks (who won the NBA Championship). However, they had to beat Denver and Memphis to even get to play Dallas. In Game 7 against Memphis in the semis, Collison played 33 minutes and had a +26 plus-minus to help OKC reach their first-ever Western Conference Finals.

Collison statline: 33 minutes, 8 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

June 12, 2012

In 2012, Mr. Thunder finally reached the NBA Finals. Of course, they wound up losing to LeBron, but in Game 1? Well, they handled business! Collison played heavy minutes, nearly had a double-double, and posted a +13 plus-minus.

Collison statline: 21 minutes, 8 points, and 10 rebounds.

November 22, 2015

The 2015-16 season was the last year that Collison was actually in the rotation. This game is significant because it was the last time he ever scored in double figures. The Thunder beat the Mavericks 117-114.

Collison statline: 16 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds.

(Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference)

Thank you, Mr. Thunder…you’ll be missed by basketball purists forever.