Former NBA player Jason Collins has died at the age of 47 following a battle with brain cancer, his family has announced.
Collins passed away after what his family described as a “valiant fight” with glioblastoma, an aggressive and inoperable form of brain cancer.
As reported by the BBC on Wednesday, the announcement was shared through the National Basketball Association.
He revealed in 2025 that he had been diagnosed with the disease after experiencing difficulties with concentration. Doctors later confirmed the presence of a rapidly spreading brain tumour, which he described as “a monster with tentacles spreading across the underside of my brain.”
At the time of his diagnosis, Collins said he was undergoing treatment to slow the progression of the illness, including targeted chemotherapy and medication such as Avastin, as well as specialist treatment abroad.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver paid tribute to Collins, saying his influence extended far beyond basketball.
“Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,” Silver said.
He added that Collins would be remembered not only for breaking barriers but also for his kindness and humanity.
Collins made history in 2013 when he became the first active male athlete in a major American professional team sport to publicly come out as gay.
His announcement, published in Sports Illustrated, was widely regarded as a landmark moment for LGBTQ visibility in sport.
At the time, Collins was a free agent, and it was unclear whether his decision would end his NBA career. He later returned to the league, rejoining the Brooklyn Nets, the team with which he began his career.
Over a 13-season NBA career, Collins played for six teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Boston Celtics. Known for his defensive role at center, he was respected as a steady presence in the locker room.
The Nets said they were “heartbroken” by his death, praising both his contributions on the court and his wider impact on the sport.
“Those who were around Jason every day knew him not just as a competitor, but as a genuinely kind, thoughtful person,” the team said. “His courage and authenticity helped move the game—and the world—forward.”
After retiring in 2014, Collins was named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. He later continued advocacy work for inclusion in sport and spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention alongside his twin brother and fellow former NBA player Jarron Collins.
Former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery described Collins as one of the university’s great players and said his passing marked a “sad day” for basketball.
Collins is being remembered as a trailblazing athlete whose openness and courage helped reshape attitudes toward LGBTQ players in professional sports.
LeBron James began his final NBA season with a defeat as the Philadelphia 76ers lost 114-108 to the Brooklyn Nets in a pre-season game.
The 41-year-old American joined the 76ers in July, describing the move as his final contract in the NBA after a remarkable career spanning more than two decades.
James scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, recorded five assists and made one steal in 18 minutes of action in the first half.
As reported by BBC Sport on Friday, despite the defeat, James remained optimistic about his new team’s prospects, admitting that the players would need time to build chemistry and understand one another on the court.
“We’re still trying to put each other in the position to be successful and complement each other the best way we can on the floor. But it’s going to take some time,” James said.
“Tonight was a good sample size for us to build on.”
James featured alongside new team-mates Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey, while Jaylen Brown led the scoring with 18 points.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player joined Philadelphia after spending eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers, having previously played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
James has won NBA championships with all three previous franchises, claiming two titles with Miami, one with Cleveland and another with the Lakers.
The league’s all-time leading scorer is preparing for a record-extending 24th NBA season and has been selected for the NBA All-Star Game in each of the previous 22 seasons.
He will now look to help the 76ers end their 43-year wait for an NBA championship as the team continues to develop its understanding ahead of the new campaign.
The President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Bashir Adeniyi, has congratulated Team Nigeria on the country’s first-ever medal at the Veterans World Wrestling Championships in Amman, Jordan.
Elias Mika, a former national champion, became the first Nigerian veteran wrestler to win a medal at the event, taking bronze in the 70kg Greco-Roman category.
The championships, organised by United World Wrestling, run from October 6 to 11 and feature Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling for athletes aged 35 and above.
In a message on behalf of the federation’s board, Adeniyi also praised veteran coach Babatunde James, popularly known as Tunde King, for guiding Mika.
“I congratulate Mapsin Elias Mika and Tunde King on this historic feat. This historic achievement is a moment of immense pride for Nigeria and the entire wrestling community,” he said.
“Their dedication and passion for wrestling, even after retiring from active competition, demonstrate the enduring commitment of our veterans to the development of the sport.”
Adeniyi said the medal had written Nigeria’s name in the record books of world veterans wrestling and strengthened the country’s growing reputation in the sport.
He added that the experience of former athletes could inspire and mentor younger wrestlers.
He disclosed that the federation had deliberately built veteran wrestling into its strategic blueprint to recognise the contributions of former athletes and keep them connected to the sport. He assured veterans that the current board would continue to support their welfare and involvement.
Ten Nigerian players have caught the eye in the weeks before and around the first international break of the season, from Gift Orban and Kelechi Iheanacho’s scoring run in Turkey and Godwin Obaje’s 100-goal landmark at home, PETER AKINBO writes
Calvin Bassey (Fulham)
Bassey has grown from a dependable defender into a leader at Fulham, which makes him one of the most trusted Nigerians in the Premier League.
New head coach Alvaro Arbeloa gave him the matchday captaincy for the club’s opening three league games. “Being able to captain this club is unbelievable,” he said.
The 26-year-old came through the Leicester City academy and has also played for Rangers and Ajax. He has made 105 appearances for Fulham since joining in July 2023, with four goals and one assist. His driving run and shot in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United on September 20 forced a save that led to Fulham’s opening goal.
File; Calvin Bassey
Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray)
Osimhen has made one of the most productive starts to the season of any Nigerian in Europe, as the Turkish champions again built their attack around him.
He found the net in each of Galatasaray’s opening matches and scored six goals in his first four Süper Lig games, including a brace and an assist in the 4-0 win over Erzurumspor. That put him level with Gift Orban at the top of the Turkish scoring charts.
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen. Photo: Super Eagles
Tolu Arokodare (Ajax)
Arokodare has revived his career in Amsterdam after a difficult spell at Wolves, who were relegated. He scored six goals in 38 appearances for them last season.
He joined Ajax on loan in July, scored on his debut in a pre-season win over Volendam, and then scored in his first two Eredivisie starts, against Telstar and PSV.
By mid-September he had five goals and two assists in 355 minutes, a goal contribution roughly every 71 minutes. The 25-year-old said that scoring goals is his job, and Ajax have an option to make the move permanent.
File: Tolu Arokodare.
Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan)
After returning from a loan spell at Fulham, Chukwueze has reinvented himself as a right wing-back under new head coach Ruben Amorim, and he is already one of Milan’s most productive creators. He was Man of The Match in the 2-1 win at Torino on the opening weekend, where he set up Adrien Rabiot’s goal and created four chances, more than any other player in the game. He has three assists in his first four league games.
The 27-year-old had three goals and four assists in 26 appearances for Fulham last season. He has said he wants to be Amorim’s first-choice right wing-back.
Samuel Chukwueze
Rasheedat Ajibade (Paris Saint-Germain)
Ajibade is one of the leading Nigerian women in European football, wearing the number 10 shirt at one of the continent’s top clubs. She scored as PSG thrashed Oud-Heverlee Leuven 5-0 in the Women’s Champions League and in their 3-1 win over FC Fleury 91.
The forward joined the French club from Atlético Madrid on a free transfer in August 2025, on a contract until June 2027.
Rasheedat Ajibade
Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest)
Aina is back at international level after almost a year out of football. He returned to the Super Eagles for the 2-1 win over Madagascar in Uyo and delivered a solid performance.
It was his first appearance for Nigeria since the 1-1 draw with South Africa in September 2025, when he picked up an injury on a poor pitch.
He was an unused substitute in the 3-0 defeat in Bissau to avoid injury at the subpar grounds.
File: Ola Aina
Godwin Obaje (Rangers)
Obaje has joined the most exclusive group in the domestic game, and the milestone puts him among the best Nigerian strikers of his generation. He scored his 100th goal in the Nigeria Premier Football League with an 11th-minute penalty in Rangers’ 1-0 win over Warri Wolves in Ozoro on September 30.
He is the second player in the last decade to reach the mark, and Rangers honoured him before their 3-1 win over Abia Warriors on Sunday.
The 30-year-old has scored 25 goals for Wikki Tourists, where he won the 2016 Golden Boot with 18, 16 for FC Ifeanyi Ubah, one for Plateau United, 23 for Abia Warriors and 35 for Rangers.
“I am very happy to be listed among the great legends in the league,” he told PUNCH Sports Extra.
Rangers International striker Godwin Obaje
Gift Orban (Amedspor)
Orban has revived a career that had stalled and put himself in the Super Eagles conversation, with a start that few forwards in Turkey can match. He scored a hat-trick against Başakşehir to take his tally to six goals in five games, and he now has seven in six league matches.
That put him level with Osimhen at the top of the scoring charts and helped newly promoted Amedspor to the top of the Süper Lig table.
The 24-year-old is on loan from Hoffenheim and scored seven goals for Hellas Verona last season. He has yet to make his Super Eagles debut, and he was left out of Éric Chelle’s squad for the September qualifiers.
Iheanacho has rebuilt his career in Turkey and forced his way back into the Super Eagles with sheer goalscoring. He has 11 goals and two assists in nine appearances since joining Bursaspor as a free agent after his Celtic contract expired, and he has scored in every league match he has played. He equalled a Bursaspor record that had stood for 12 years.
The form earned him a recall to the national team after more than 16 months out, as his last cap was in the Unity Cup final on May 31, 2025. He scored in Nigeria’s 3-3 draw with Russia.
Rafiu Durosinmi (Genk)
Durosinmi’s early goal rate has invited comparison with Arokodare and Paul Onuachu, who both thrived at Genk. He has scored five goals in his first six league games since joining from Pisa for a club-record €10.5m.
He scored in each of his first four games, and the 23-year-old wants at least 20 goals this season, following Onuachu and Arokodare, who both won the Belgian Pro League Golden Boot at Genk.
His scoring run ended in the 3-0 defeat by Club Brugge.
