Count Utah Jazz rookie Cody Williams among those who were surprised about one of the team’s lesser-known hometown connections.
“He’s born here?” he exclaimed. “I actually had no clue.”
The “he” in question: forward/center John Collins, who was born on Hill Air Force Base in Layton on Sept. 23, 1997. Collins, part of a double military family — his mom served in the Air Force, while his dad was in the Navy — moved around frequently as a child and was largely raised in Florida, but his earliest days were spent in Utah.
Some 27 years later, Collins and the rest of the Jazz scrimmaged at the Warrior Fitness Center at Hill, in front of hundreds of military families and supporters Saturday. The teams were split into two, played four eight-minute quarters, and generally put on a slam-dunk fest of a show for the troops, less than 24 hours after their preseason game against the New Zealand Breakers.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) goes to the hoop, as Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) defends, during a Utah Jazz scrimmage at Hill Air Force Base, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
For most of the Jazz, it was a perfunctory community appearance. For Collins and a couple of teammates, it meant more.
“It’s just funny, knowing how life works, knowing that I was born on this base,” Collins said. “Obviously to achieve my dream of playing the NBA and to be back here, it’s sort of surreal and I’m taking the moment in.”
Collins reported that his family, and especially his mother, were “excited” that he had the chance to play at his birthplace; it was the first time he’d returned there since departing as a toddler.
The Utah connection actually means Collins ranks quite highly in the NBA record books among those born in the Beehive State. According to Basketball Reference, 27 players born in the state have played in the NBA, including 11 since the year 2000. Collins comes in third in Utah’s history in terms of points scored, with a total of 6,795 points. Only Tom Chambers (20,049 career points) and Byron Scott (15,097) rank higher.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Fans respond to a big dunk by Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3), during a Utah Jazz scrimmage at Hill Air Force Base, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
While Collins is the first player born in Utah to play in a Jazz uniform since Devin Brown did in 2006, Collins isn’t the only military kid on the team. Both of Jordan Clarkson’s parents served in the Air Force. And the rookie Williams himself, along with his brother Jalen of the Oklahoma City Thunder, were raised on an Air Force base in Arizona to military parents, too.
“With my parents in Arizona, we’d always go to the military base to bowl, then go out to eat and then obviously come here and play basketball,” Williams said. “So for me, it’s like right up my alley.”
The community appearance wrapped up the Jazz’s first week of training camp; they’ll next be in action on Monday night against the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. at the Delta Center.
