For the Atlanta Hawks, second-year big man John Collins looked absolutely dominant this summer when he hit the court in Utah and Las Vegas for the 2018 NBA Summer League.
Second-year players often take a huge step forward when they come back for their second run at the summer league after getting an entire year of NBA basketball under their belt and John Collins was no exception to that. He averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds while averaging 25.5 minutes played in the four games we got to see him suit up.
Collins looked light years better than 90% of the other players on the court while he was getting time. Many fans of the Hawks and fans of basketball were even begging the Hawks to shut him down for the rest of summer league to avoid unnecessary injuries to a player that has clearly shown how much he improved this offseason.
Collins looked extremely comfortable on the court and showed a newfound playmaking ability and a versatile three-point jumper that we did not see as much of in his rookie season.
We knew he was capable of hitting corner threes and stretching the floor, but I do not think many of us were expecting him to shoot the ball as well as he did from 3 in his couple summer league games.
He shot almost 38% from three and his jump shot looked extremely pure and he was comfortable taking and hitting them from all over the arc, not just the corners like we saw last season.
He also showed the ability to handle to ball and create plays for other teammates which is a huge step forward in his development.
The chemistry between Collins and Trae Young already looks to be at a high level which is a great sign for this teams future and is something that will only improve as time goes on and they got more experience playing alongside each other.
Between Collins, Young, and Taurean Prince the Hawks have three young, versatile and exciting players to build around for years to come.
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Collins showed off absolute star potential and gave the league a little taste of what to expect from him this season when he sees consistent minutes night-in and night-out. With the Eastern Conference lacking star power, watch out for Collins to be a wildcard for an All-Star spot next season.
Next: Hawks Projected Starting Lineup for 18-19 Season
I expect the second-year power forward to take a huge step forward this season and prove that Donovan Mitchell wasn’t the only steal of the 2017 NBA draft.