Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks

Thursday marks 10 years since passing of Hawks’ Jason Collier

By Chris Vivlamore
Oct 15, 2015

It has been 10 years since Jason Collier died suddenly during Hawks training camp.

The 28-year-old center passed away on Oct. 15, 2005 from sudden cardiac rhythm disturbance caused by an enlarged heart. He left behind a wife, Katie, and daughter Ella, then 20 months old.

The Hawks award the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy each year since the 2005-06 season. It’s given to the player who best exemplifies the characteristics that Collier displayed off the court as a community ambassador. Previous winners were Josh Childress (twice), Marvin Williams (twice), Al Horford, Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia, Devin Harris, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll.

A photo and Collier’s No. 40 jersey hangs in the Hawks’ players lounge.

ExploreI wrote this story on Collier and his family two years ago with some Curtis Compton contributing photographs and video.

About the Author

Chris Vivlamore is the sports editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has served as reporter and editor at the AJC since 2003.

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