Atlanta Hawks: John Collins Puts up Historic Stat Line vs. Nets

An exploration of the Atlanta Hawks John Collins huge night against the Brooklyn Nets.

Though the Atlanta Hawks were defeated by the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the week, second-year big man John Collins joined some elite company with an amazing stat line.

JC is having a stunning second season after being named as a member of the All-Rookie Second Team in his first year, and the Hawks are reaping the benefits of his growth. Clearly, Collins is an extremely important part of this Atlanta team as they move forward in their rebuild (and deserves All-Star buzz because of it).

Against the Nets, Collins proved, once again, why he might be the steal of the 2017 Draft with this stupendous stat line: 30 points on 12 of 21 shooting with 14 total rebounds, 9 offensive rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in only 35 minutes of action.

Those 30 points matches a career-high JC set earlier in the year, but when you delve a little bit deeper, Collins joined an elite group of players to produce a line of at least 30 points on at least 21 shot attempts with 14 total rebounds and 9 offensive boards.

The list is 69 players long, but Collins distinguishes himself from the pack on two major criteria.

First, JC is the fifth-youngest player to produce that line, being bested only by Dwight Howard, Elton Brand, Shaquille O’Neal and Deandre Ayton – who set the mark this year and is the youngest player ever to produce such a stat line.

Second, many of these sterling performances came about due to players logging a glut of minutes in a game. Collins, on the other hand, notched only 35 minutes against the Nets, which is tied for sixth-fewest among players to produce such a line.

Collins joins Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing at the 35-minute mark, which has been bested by Dwight (twice), Shaq, Hawks legend Kevin Willis and Alonzo Mourning, who notched 36 points on 15 of 19 shooting, 22 rebounds and 3 blocks in only 28 minutes at the tender age of 23. Sheesh, Zo.

No matter what, this is amazing company for Collins to join, and though these benchmarks might seem arbitrary, it just goes to show how impactful JC has been in his second year with the Atlanta Hawks – and how much of a force he might be going forward.