Jason Collins, former NBA player and the first openly gay hooper to play in the league, passed away Tuesday after a battle with a brain tumor, his family announced in a statement. He was only 47.
Collins, who played 13 seasons in the NBA playing for various teams, had revealed in an ESPN article that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer with extremely low survival rate.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” the statement from his family read.
Given that his family confirmed the death of the 47-year-old former basketball center, it sparked a lot of interest in his family life. In this article, we will look at his family- most prominently his husband, Brunson Green, a film producer in Hollywood, and his brother, Jarron Green, NBA coach and former player.
Jason Collins Family: Who Is His Husband, Brunson Green?
Jason Collins’s husband, film producer Brunson Green is best known for ‘The Help’ and for leading Harbinger Pictures in Los Angeles. The two reportedly dated for years before marrying in Austin in May 2025. They got engaged at the Los Angeles Lakers Pride Night in 2023.
Collins had revealed in an article for Sports Illustrated that he started dating Green just after he retired from the NBA in 2014. Their marriage took place in May 2025, and Collins had posted photos from the wedding on his Instagram stories.
Here’s a post Jason Collins made for his to-be husband on Valentine’s Day 2023, just months before their engagement.
In another Sports Illustrated interview, Collins went into detail about his relationship with Green. “I was dating another guy at the time. I didn’t see Brunson again until we ran into each other at a party three months later. By that point, I was single again,” he had said.
“Brunson left for Europe the following day, and, while he was overseas, I asked everyone I knew in LA, ‘Have you heard of this guy?’”
Where Is His Brother Jaron Collins Now?
Jarron Collins, the brother of Jason Collins, has been an NBA coach. Currently a free agent, he was most recently associated with the New Orleans Pelicans as an assistant coach. As a player, he spent 10 seasons with the Utah Jazz after being drafted in the second round of the 2001 NBA draft out of Stanford.
However, Jarron Collins really made a name in the NBA coaching scene after he spent seven seasons, from 2014 to 2021, with Steve Kett at the Golden State Warriors. As a member of Kerr’s backroom staff, he won three NBA championships with Golden State.
