SAN ANTONIO — Zach Collins impressed in his Spurs debut on Friday night, 540 days since he last suited up for an NBA team.
The tenth overall pick in 2017 has been working toward this return for longer than expected after suffering a medial malleolus stress fracture in his left ankle. When the Blazers let him walk over the summer, San Antonio snapped him up and made a bet on the big man's recovery. For both Collins and his new team, the return to the court couldn't come soon enough.
The Spurs have of course dealt with the normal growing pains of a young team, but one of the primary weaknesses in the rotation has been the backup center role. Thad Young hasn't played much as the trade deadline approaches, and it's a pretty steep drop off from Jakob Poeltl to the undersized and offensively-limited Drew Eubanks, or rookie Jock Landale who shoots well but hasn't been healthy for long enough to get into a groove.
San Antonio has needed a versatile big man for several years, but especially as they build around Dejounte Murray and the other young playmakers. If they could build their dream big in a lab, he'd be someone who can play the four or the five, who can pop or roll effectively after setting the screen, who punishes mismatches in the post and spaces the floor otherwise, who moves well and competes hard defensively and on the glass.
Mercifully, and finally, Zach Collins has entered the chat. He's all that and a closet full of flannels, and exactly the type of complimentary big this team needs if he can return to pre-injury form.
"I'm definitely looking forward to him setting screens, seeing him back on the floor," said Doug McDermott. "We're all pulling for Zach. He's been a real good teammate through all this."
"Every time I see him, he's getting better and better," Keldon Johnson said as Collins rehabbed in Austin. "To see him back on the court made me happy. Before the game, we were watching and cheering him on. Getting him back is definitely going to be great for us, we can't wait to have him back."
As long as Collins' teammates and fans in San Antonio have waited for him to step on the court healthy, Collins has waited a good deal longer.
He came to the arena on Friday night wearing a fashion statement, the way he always does. But for the first time in a year and a half he went to the locker room, peeled his wiry 6'11" frame out of the skinny jeans, and put on an NBA uniform.
"I think it will be pretty emotional when I come back and play in the NBA," Collins said as he worked his way to playing with Austin in the G League.
"Basketball is what I do. Basketball is like, the only thing I really care about," he said in a video the Spurs released Friday. "To have that taken away from me for the past two years, whatever it's been, it's been super frustrating. To be back and to be on the court, to feel strong again, to feel sore even after a workout, it's just feelings that I haven't had in a long time. This whole process of not playing has definitely made me appreciate the game more. I just want to hoop."
For the first time in far too long, he did.
In his first few moments on the court, he grabbed an offensive board and got to the free throw line. He missed the first, but sunk the second for his first NBA points in a good long while. Soon after he got another offensive rebound and popped it in the hoop.
He deterred a number of drives and even broke up an odd-man break for the Rockets in transition, though the defense wasn't perfect.
In the second half Dejounte Murray ran pick and pop with Collins, who swished a rainbow three with zero hesitation. The next trip, on the same play, Murray took advantage of the screen and spacing, driving all the way in for a power jam. He got a switch after a screen, went to the post and called for it, and cleverly dropped it off to a cutting Derrick White for easy points.
On defense Collins stole it, then later got called for a foul on a huge block attempt.
He hit a jumper in the post over Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun, then fell down the next time he posted up. Collins tried to bounce a pass to Devin Vassell on a backdoor cut, but went just a bit too long.
In the fourth, he came back in and got Keldon a score inside with a read and pass that required chemistry and communication. Collins posted up after a switch and drew a double team that helped create a three. He missed in the post, got it back, and bounced it to Primo for a cutting layup.
He finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in just 13 minutes, providing exactly what the Spurs have needed in a backup center all season.
After the game, he said that he made defensive mistakes but got after it on the glass, and settled in offensively in the second half. He also acknowledged that he went to a dark place for a bit as he wondered if he would ever recover from his injury and get back to where he is now.
"It meant everything, it's been a long road. It's been forever since I played in an NBA game because of this damn ankle. There's a lot of work that goes into the rehab, especially when you've been rehabbing for 18 months, so to see all the work and everything come to light and come to fruition, I've been dreaming about this for a long long time, so it was a great night."