Doug Collins (basketball)

Doug Collins
Born	(1951-07-28) July 28, 1951 Christopher, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball player, coach, executive, television analyst
Years active	1973–1981 (player), 1986–2013 (coach), 1980s–present (broadcaster/executive)
Known for	NBA player for Philadelphia 76ers; NBA coach for Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers; basketball analyst; Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee

Paul Douglas Collins (born July 28, 1951) is a prominent figure in American basketball, known for his roles as an NBA player, coach, executive, and television analyst. His playing career spanned from 1973 to 1981 with the Philadelphia 76ers, during which he was selected to the NBA All-Star team four times. Beginning his coaching journey in 1986, Collins took the helm of teams including the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers. Beyond coaching, he contributed as a basketball analyst on various NBA broadcasts and was honored with the Curt Gowdy Media Award.

In April 2024, Collins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Contributors Committee’s class of 2024.

Early life

Born in Christopher, Illinois and raised in Benton, Illinois, Collins grew up near future actor John Malkovich. He excelled in basketball during his time at Benton Consolidated High School, where he played under coach Rich Herrin.

College career

Collins attended Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, playing under coach Will Robinson, who became the first African American head coach in NCAA Division I basketball starting in 1970.

Philadelphia 76ers (1973–1981)

Selected as the first overall pick in the 1973 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Collins spent eight seasons with the franchise and earned four selections to the NBA All-Star games. During the 1976–77 season, he teamed up with Julius Erving to guide the Sixers to the NBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Collins’ playing career was cut short by injuries to his feet and left knee beginning in 1979, leading to his retirement in 1981. Over his NBA tenure, he appeared in 415 games and accumulated 7,427 points, averaging 17.9 points per game.

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player, Collins moved into coaching. He worked as an assistant coach under Bob Weinhauer at Penn before joining Arizona State in a similar capacity. In 1984, he left Arizona State to pursue a role as a television commentator for CBS.

Chicago Bulls (1986–1989)

In May 1986, Collins was appointed head coach of the Chicago Bulls, a team featuring a young star in Michael Jordan. The Bulls had just completed a disappointing 30–52 season and had gone through two coaches over the previous two years.

Under Collins’ leadership, Chicago improved by ten wins each season, achieving a 50–32 record by his second year. His third season brought the Bulls their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in fifteen years; however, they were eliminated by their Central Division rivals, the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons. Despite this progress and his strong rapport with fans, Collins was dismissed during the summer of 1989.

Detroit Pistons (1995–1998)

Collins took over as head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1995. Like his experience with Chicago, he inherited a promising young talent—Grant Hill, who was frequently compared to Michael Jordan. In his inaugural season with Detroit, Collins improved their record by eighteen wins and led them back into playoff contention; however, they were swept by the Orlando Magic.

During his second year, Hill rose to MVP contender status while Collins was selected as coach for the Eastern Conference All-Star team. A notable achievement came on April 13 when Detroit defeated the defending champion Bulls, snapping a nineteen-game losing streak against Chicago. The Pistons concluded that season with a 54–28 record but were eliminated in a five-game first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

Collins remained head coach until February 2, 1998, when he was succeeded by Alvin Gentry. Afterwards, he transitioned into broadcasting roles with networks such as NBC on NBA on NBC and TNT on NBA on TNT.

Washington Wizards (2001–2003)

Following a three-year stint in broadcasting, Collins resumed his coaching career with the Washington Wizards during the 2001–02 NBA season, reuniting with Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley. In his inaugural season back on the sidelines, he enhanced the team's performance by increasing their win total by 18 games. Over two seasons, Collins achieved a .451 winning percentage, surpassing the Wizards' previous records of .308 and .305. Nevertheless, he was dismissed after the conclusion of the 2002–03 NBA season.

Philadelphia 76ers (2010–2013)

Collins was appointed head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on May 21, 2010. Despite beginning with a challenging 3–13 record, the team rebounded to secure the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. Under his leadership, the Sixers improved their win total by 14 games compared to the prior season. They were eliminated in the first round by the eventual Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat, but avoided being swept. That year, Collins finished second in the voting for the Coach of the Year.

During the lockout-shortened 2011–2012 campaign, Collins guided Philadelphia to a better record and an eighth seed playoff berth. The Sixers achieved a historic upset over the top-seeded Chicago Bulls, marking only the fifth occasion an eighth seed defeated a first seed in NBA history. They extended their postseason run by pushing the Boston Celtics to a full seven-game series before being eliminated.

On April 18, 2013, Collins stepped down from his coaching position to dedicate more time to his grandchildren but continued with the organization as an adviser.

National team career

Collins represented Team USA at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich. He played a pivotal role in the highly disputed gold medal game against the Soviet Union, sinking two crucial free throws to take the lead before controversial replays in the final seconds allowed the USSR to score and claim victory. The American squad boycotted the medal ceremony and refused to accept their medals.

In 2008, Collins contributed to NBC Sports' basketball coverage during the Beijing Olympics, where his son Chris served as court coach and scout for the gold medal-winning "Redeem Team." Collins was honored with an invitation to join them at the Gold Medal presentation. He also appeared in Netflix's The Redeem Team released in 2022.

Broadcasting career

Collins began his broadcasting career with CBS in the mid-1980s, primarily providing commentary for playoff games. He also served as lead color analyst for Philadelphia 76ers local broadcasts during the 1985–86 season. Between coaching assignments, he contributed to coverage on CBS, NBC, TNT, TBS, and ABC/ESPN. In the 2003–04 season, Collins worked part-time as a commentator for New York Knicks games on MSG Network, alongside Marv Albert.

After his departure from Washington, Collins returned to TNT as an analyst and provided commentary for NBC Sports during basketball events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also served as a basketball analyst for NBC at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

During this timeframe, Collins was considered for multiple head coaching opportunities. In 2005, he was among candidates for the Milwaukee Bucks head coach position but was passed over in favor of Terry Stotts. The Bucks approached him again in 2008 with an offer to assume both general manager and coaching responsibilities; however, he declined. In May 2008, Collins entered discussions to become head coach of the Chicago Bulls nearly twenty years after his previous tenure but withdrew after mutually agreeing with owner Jerry Reinsdorf that proceeding would not be appropriate given their close personal relationship.

Chicago Bulls (2017–present)

On September 19, 2017, the Chicago Bulls revealed that Collins had come on board as a senior advisor for basketball operations.

Personal life

Collins and his spouse Kathy have two children and live in the Delaware Valley. Their son, Chris, who played basketball at Duke University, currently serves as the head coach for Northwestern University's basketball team. Their daughter Kelly, a former player at Lehigh University, works as an educator in Pennsylvania.

Awards and honors

The basketball court at Illinois State University is named in honor of Collins (Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena). In 2009, a statue depicting Collins alongside his ISU coach, Will Robinson, was unveiled outside Redbird Arena.

On June 19, 2021, Collins was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and received the Order of Lincoln, the highest accolade bestowed by the state.

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"|1971–72 | style="text-align:left;"|Illinois State | 26 || — || — || .500 || — || .808 || 5.1 || — || — || — || 32.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1972–73 | style="text-align:left;"|Illinois State | 25 || — || — || .476 || — || .818 || 5.0 || — || — || — || 26.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 51 || — || — || .489 || — || .812 || 5.1 || — || — || — || 29.4

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"|1973–74 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 25 || — || 17.4 || .371 || — || .764 || 1.8 || 1.6 || .5 || .1 || 8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1974–75 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 81 || — || 34.8 || .488 || — || .844 || 3.9 || 2.6 || 1.3 || .2 || 17.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1975–76 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 77 || — || 38.9 || .513 || — || .836 || 4.0 || 2.5 || 1.4 || .3 || 20.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1976–77 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 58 || — || 35.1|| .518|| —|| .840|| 3.4|| 4.7|| 1.2|| .3||18.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1977–78 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 79||—||35.1||.526||—||.812||2.9||4.1||1.6||.3||19.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1978–79 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |47||—||33.9||.499||—||.814||2.6||4.1||1.1||.4||19.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1979–80 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |36||—||26.8||.466||.000||.911||2.6||2.8||.8||.2||13.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1980–81 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia |12||—||27.4||.492||—||.828||2.4||3.5||.6||.3||12.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career |415||—||33.6||.501||.000||.833||3.2||3.3||1.2||.3||17.9 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|All-Star |3||1||22.7||.458||—||.800||4.3||5.7||2.0||0.0||11.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;" |1976 NBA playoffs | style="text-align:left;" |1975–76 Philadelphia 76ers season | 3 || || 39.0 || .434 || || .857 || 7.0 || 3.3 || 1.0 || .3 || 19.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" |1977 NBA playoffs | style="text-align:left;" |1976–77 Philadelphia 76ers season | 19  ||| 39.9  ||| .557  |||   ||| .740  ||| 4.2  ||| 3.9  ||| 1.5  ||| .2  ||| 22.4 |- |- |style="text-align:left;" |1978 NBA playoffs |- |style="text-align:left;" |1977–78 Philadelphia 76ers season |- |10 |- | |- |34. |- |497. |- |816. |- |31. |- |27. |- |03. |- |0204. |- class= "sortbottom" |- |style= "text-align:center; " colspan= "2" |Career |- |32 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- -.526 |- -.855 |- -.041 |- -.035 |- -.011 |- -.01

Head coaching record

|- | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 40 || 42 || || style="text-align:center;"|5th place in Central Division || 3 || 0 || 3 || | style="text-align:center;"|Eliminated in First round |- | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 50 || 32 || || style="text-align:center;"|2nd place in Central Division || 10 || 4 || 6 || | style="text-align:center;"|Exited in Conference semifinals |- | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 47 || 35 || || style="text-align:center;"|5th place in Central Division || 17 || 9 || 8 || | style="text-align:center;"|Defeated in Conference finals |- | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | style="text-align:left;"| | 82 || 46 || 36 || || style="text-align:center;"|4th place in Central Division|| 3||0||3||

| style="text-align:center;" |Eliminated in First round
|-
| style = "text-align: left;" |  Detroit
| style = "text-align: left;" | 
|82||54||28||||style = "text-align: center;" |3rd place in Central Division||5||2||3||
|style = "text-align: center;" |Eliminated in First round
|-
|style = "text-align: left;" |  Detroit
|style = "text-align: left;" | 
|45||21||24||||style = "text-align: center;"|(dismissed)||||||||
|style = "text-align: center;" |
|-
|style = "text-align: left;" |  Washington
|style = "text-align: left;" | 
|82||37||45||||style = "text-align: center;" |5th place in Atlantic Division||||||||
|style = "text-align: center;" |Did not qualify for playoffs
|-
|style = "text-align: left;" |  Washington
|style = "text-align: left;" | 
|82||37||45||||style = "text-align: center;" |5th place in Atlantic Division||||||||
|style = "text-align: center;" |Did not qualify for playoffs
|-
|style = "text-align: left;" |  Philadelphia
|style = "text-align: left;" | 
|82||41||41||||style = "text-align: center;" |3rd place in Atlantic Division||5||1||4||
|style = "text-align: center;" |Defeated in 2011 NBA Playoffs First round
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colspan=2 style= text - align:center; career

| 849 | 442 | 407 | winning percentage442407 |   | 56 | 23 | 33 | winning percentage2333 |