Jason Paul Collins is a retired American professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Stanford University where he was an All-American in 2000-01, before being drafted 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.

Jason Collins was waiting for the right moment to share his secret. He was ready to go public during the 2012-13 season, but he didn’t want the announcement to be a distraction to his team, first the Boston Celtics then the Washington Wizards.

Jason Collins featured jersey number 34 for the Atlanta Hawks and 98 for the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards. Why did Jason Collins leave the NBA?

After being a first-round draft pick in 2001, Collins has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Celtics and Wizards. In his SI piece, he jokes self-effacingly about his journeyman career and a parlor game known as “Three Degrees of Jason Collins.”