Now an executive with OKC’s Thunder, Nick Collison earns NBA championship ring
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- Nick Collison earns NBA championship ring as Thunder executive in 2025
- Former KU forward played 15 seasons with the franchise before retiring in 2018
- Thunder win excludes active Kansas players, ending title streak
For the first time in four years, a former Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball player-turned-active NBA player is not part of the league’s championship team.
Former KU shooting guard/small forward Johnny Furphy’s Indiana Pacers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-91, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday in OKC.
Furphy, a rookie who played a one-and-done season at KU in 2023-24, played one minute in Game 7. He scored two points on 1-of-1 shooting in 13 combined minutes in four of the seven NBA Finals games.
KU’s Svi Mykhailiuk of the Boston Celtics won an NBA championship last season, while Christian Braun was a world champion with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and Andrew Wiggins a champ with the Golden State Warriors in 2022. KU had no NBA champion in 2021. Markieff Morris won it all with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
No members of the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder played college basketball at KU.
However, the only player in Thunder history to have his jersey number retired will be fitted for an NBA title ring as special assistant to the general manager.
Former KU forward Nick Collison, who played in the NBA 15 seasons, was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 12th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft and retired as a member of the Thunder in 2018.
The Sonics franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008. In 2012, the Thunder reached the NBA Finals, losing to the Miami Heat in five games.
Collison’s Thunder jersey No. 4 was retired on March 20, 2019 during a ceremony before a game against the Toronto Raptors. He had career averages of 5.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was a 53.4% shooter for his career.
The 6-foot-10 power forward in four years at KU (2000-2003) had career averages of 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. He averaged 18.5 points and 10.0 rebounds a game his senior year (2002-03) in earning Big 12 player of the year honors. Collison was a first team consensus All-American and the NABC player of the year his final season as a Jayhawk.
Collison’s KU jersey No. 4 was hung in the Allen Fieldhouse rafters at halftime of the KU-Michigan State game on Nov. 25, 2003.
Following his retirement as a player, Collison, now 44, joined the Thunder in the position of basketball operations representative. On August 10, 2021, he was promoted to the position of special assistant to the executive vice president and general manager.
Former Thunder great Kevin Durant gave Collison the nickname “Mr. Thunder” for his contributions and leadership on the court and work in the community off the court.
“I think the story of the Oklahoma City Thunder is a pretty cool story, being able to start from scratch (after moving from Seattle) and have a ton of success,” Collison told ESPN.com on the day of his jersey retirement. “I think I played a pretty big part in that, and I’m proud of my career and always tried to do my job, and it’s cool to be recognized for that.
“I got to play on a lot of great teams here,” Collison added. “We had great teams because we had great players. I played with a lot of guys that made me look a lot better than I was. It was just all the Hall of Famers I played with, it was all the role players, the mentors. Here and in college, everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always loved my teammates. For me, I just always wanted my teammates to know that all I wanted to do is help them win. I never had another agenda, and I think I stayed true to that, and I hope they feel that way.”
Asked what he would have thought as a rookie if somebody said he’d spend 15 years with one franchise, he said: “I would’ve thought you were crazy. Again, I never would’ve expected this, just knowing my place in the league and the way it usually goes for guys like me. I probably wouldn’t have anticipated a trade — no players do — but if you really would’ve looked at it, you probably would’ve said at some point you’d move around. That’s what most guys do.
“It’s such a great thing to be in one place the whole time and be able to be with that group of people for so long and have the type of connections I have. A lot of people in the NBA don’t get that.”
The Thunder HQ social media X site account saluted players who have played for the Sonics/Thunder through the years: “We did it for Poku, Roberson, Thabo, Ibaka, CP3, Schroder, Abrines , Nick Collison, Terrance Ferguson, Giddey, Isaiah Roby, Moses Brown, Maynor, Kanter, Simpson, Krejci, PG13, Adams, and the list goes on. Shoutout to everyone that helped make this happen over the years,” the post stated.
Another Thunder fan, J.K. Salinas wrote on X: “Nick Collison deserves this championship. He IS the OKC Thunder.”
Fan “Shando,” wrote on X: “This was for Thabo, Eric Maynor, the stasch bros, Daquan cook, Mr. Thunder Nick collison, Russ, KD, Harden, Ibaka. STAY LOYAL TO THE SOIL.”
And Thunder fan Kegan Reneau wrote on X: “For Russ (Westbrook). For Nick Collison. For every Oklahoman since 1889
In all, 16 former KU players have won NBA titles while active players in the NBA.
Mykhailiuk last year became the eighth Jayhawk under head coach Bill Self to win an NBA title. He joined Wayne Simien (2006), Mario Chalmers (2012, 2013), Brandon Rush (2015), Sasha Kaun (2016), Markieff Morris (2020), Wiggins (2022) and Braun (2023). KU legends Wilt Chamberlain (1972), Jo Jo White (1976) and Paul Pierce (2008) were Jayhawks who were also named NBA Finals Most Valuable Players.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 9:37 AM.
