540 to 540: How Spurs' Zach Collins Went From 'Bust' to Bona Fide Starter
The night before a game, San Antonio Spurs big man Zach Collins might be found playing video games.
Whether it be NBA 2K or Call of Duty, the 25-year-old spends time relaxing a little bit before the grueling nature of constant travel and full 48-minute basketball games take effect.
And while Collins' video game habit is not new for him, neither is making sure his mind is prepared for his team's next game. That much has not changed over the course of his five-year career.
What has changed, however, is one significant aspect about his time in San Antonio ... Collins is beginning to establish himself in a new role as a starter for the Spurs.
"It's [been] fun man," he said. "It's fun to be in a starting role, playing all those minutes. If human beings couldn't get tired, I'd love to play the whole game."
This year, the 6-11 Gonzaga product has made a huge impact on the floor for the Spurs, bringing with him both size for rebounding, as well as shooting.
Even more important than his 10-point, six-rebound season average, however, is his comeback story that began two seasons ago in Portland.
In what would later become known as the "bubble season", the Trail Blazers faced the Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in game to decide the eighth spot of the playoffs.
The Blazers ended up winning by four while Collins tallied seven points and nine rebounds, but he also suffered an ankle injury that would cause him to miss the remainder of the season — and 540 days in total.
Portland's season ended just four games later to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers, and year later, Collins joined the Spurs.
San Antonio bet on the young star, which was more than Collins could say about the Blazer faithful, who were not so forgiving of his extended absences on the court and his overall contribution to his team, calling him a "bust" on numerous occasions.
Collins was sidelined for a total of 540 days, but when he joined the Spurs for his first game since his injury, he quickly showed flashes of potential, dropping 10 points and grabbing seven rebound in San Antonio's rout of the Rockets.
That game marked Collins' beginning with the Spurs, and since then, his role has only increased, as he recently hit 540 total points on the season for the first time in his career — also against the Rockets.
"When you come off the bench, you have the benefit of feeling the game out," Collins said. "[You're] watching what's happening, what the other team is doing defensively and figuring out 'When I go in, I saw this, so I can do this.'"
"When you start, you have to be ready to go from the jump," he added.
Collins started his first game for the Spurs this season back in November, which only lasted for six games before he was back on the bench, but after dealing former center Jakob Poeltl back to Toronto before the season's February trade deadline, Collins has been San Antonio's go-to big man.
And he was more-than ready to go in his first start since the trade.
On Feb. 10 — just one day after the transaction became official — Collins hit the floor against the Detroit Pistons, and dropped a career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds in the Spurs' double OT loss.
Since then, he has averaged 14.8 points and 8.4 rebounds — needless to say, the best basketball of his career — and has shown no signs of slowing down.
But the key to his high level of play Collins' says is simple:
"I've been being more aggressive," he said. "[I'm] taking more shots when I'm open, and just getting myself ready to go."
His offensive is not the only thing that's been clicking however. One of the benefits of his size has also shown itself on the defensive end.
This season, Collins ranks third among all NBA bigs in opponent field-goal percentage at the rim, making his presence enough to disrupt any teams in the league who rely heavily on down-low scoring.
While his impact both offensively and defensively has not gone unnoticed, if Collins had not earned the seal of approval from his veteran coach before, he has now.
"He's been out for two years, and he's been fantastic," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's just grown, getting back to where we thought he could be, and he deserves a lot of credit on both ends of the court for what he's doing."
Whether it be his shooting down low, his defensive presence or even his 3-point shooting — another part of his game Collins says he wants to improve upon — there has been no question about the impressive comeback that the former Portland lottery pick has had on his new team.
And going from 540 days on the sideline to 540 regular season points and counting this season, Collins has made himself clear.
He is certainly not a bust.
But more importantly, he is playing at his all-time best, still improving, nowhere close to being done.
"Anytime you're playing starting players in this league, they're starting for a reason," Collins said. "That competition is just going to be better ... [and] if I want to continue to help our team win ... I just have to keep playing my game."
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