John Collins is a 6-foot-9 LA Clippers forward and high-flying lob finisher out of Wake Forest, drafted 19th by Atlanta in 2017, who peaked as a 20-point scorer alongside Trae Young and developed a reliable corner three.
Model lines Collins at 13.6 pts (range 10.9–16.3) vs a 13.5 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (51%).
Model favors Indiana Pacers (63%), projected 111–114, ~225 total at 96.6 pace.
John Collins turned Wake Forest's biggest sophomore leap into a decade of NBA lob highlights.
An ACC Most Improved standout, he was drafted 19th in 2017 and made the All-Rookie Second Team.
He peaked in 2019-20 at 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds as a high-flying finisher next to Trae Young in Atlanta.
A 2023 trade sent him to his home-state Jazz, where he scored efficiently before joining the Clippers in 2025 as a frontcourt finisher and floor-spacer.
An explosive vertical athlete who paired lob finishing with a developing outside shot, John Collins grew from a Wake Forest breakout into a 20-point NBA scorer.
John Martin Collins III was born September 23, 1997 in Layton, Utah, into a military family that lived in the Virgin Islands, Guam and Turkey during his childhood. At Wake Forest he exploded as a sophomore — ~19 points and 10 rebounds a game — earning ACC Most Improved and First-Team All-ACC honors in 2017.
Atlanta drafted him 19th overall, and he made the All-Rookie Second Team before peaking in 2019-20 at 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds as a high-flying complement to Trae Young. A 2019 suspension for a banned substance he attributed to a tainted supplement is noted factually.
Traded to his home-state Jazz in 2023, he averaged around 15 and then 19 points before joining the Clippers in 2025 as a frontcourt scorer and finisher.
Sources: Wikipedia, Basketball-Reference, NBA.com.
Collins grew up in a military family — his father served in the Navy, his mother in the Air Force — living across the Virgin Islands, Guam and Turkey before settling in Florida.
An avid youth soccer player, he's a passionate Premier League follower and Chelsea F.C. supporter. His lone significant off-court matter, a 2019 PED suspension he attributed to a tainted supplement, is handled here briefly and factually.
Explosive, energetic and efficient, Collins is a play-finishing big who stretched his game to fit the modern NBA.
Vertical Finisher
Collins is an elite athlete and lob threat who finishes efficiently at the rim (career ~55% from the field) and crashes the offensive glass in the pick-and-roll.
Added Spacing
He developed a respectable corner and catch-and-shoot three (~37% career), letting him play as a stretch four rather than a pure interior big.
Defensive Fit
He can be caught between positions defensively — undersized as a full-time center with average rim protection — and works best as a complementary play-finisher, not a first option.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 69 | 27.1 | 13.6 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .552 | .406 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
An athletic frontcourt finisher and spacer for the Clippers.
Collins joined the Clippers in 2025 (via a three-team trade) as a lob-finishing, floor-spacing power forward. Still on the large extension he signed in Atlanta, his role is an efficient complementary scorer and rim-runner rather than a primary option.
Contract
A high-flying stretch four — an efficient lob-and-spacing finisher who fits cleanly next to shot creation.
Wake Forest (2015-2017), where he was 2017 First-Team All-ACC and ACC Most Improved Player.
No — he has no All-Star or All-Defensive selections and no championship. His top honor is the 2018 All-Rookie Second Team.
He served a 25-game suspension for a banned substance, which he said came from a tainted supplement.
The Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz, and — per this roster — the LA Clippers.