John Collins returns to his birthplace in Jazz open scrimmage at Hill Air Force Base

Utah Jazz rookie Cody Williams knew he wasn’t the only military brat on his new team. He knew Jordan Clarkson and John Collins could relate to growing up in a household with parents who were career members of the armed forces.
But Williams had no idea that Collins’ military upbringing started at Hill Air Force Base.
“He was born here?! I honestly had no clue,” Williams said. “What in the world? I’m going to have to talk to him about that…that’s dope for him. I didn’t know that.”
On Saturday afternoon, the Jazz held their annual open scrimmage for military members and their families at Hill Air Force Base, where coincidentally, Collins was born.
If you would have told a young Collins that he would eventually be an NBA player and that he would have the opportunity to play for the people at Hill he wouldn’t have believed you, but after signing with the Jazz, Collins felt like the circle was made complete on Saturday.
“Life just works in funny ways,” Collins said. “Achieving my dream of becoming an NBA player and to come back to the place I was born and had never been back, it’s funny. God works in mysterious ways. I’m trying to take all the blessings as they come.”
As the Jazz’s bus drove onto base and moved toward Warrior Fitness Center, Collins looked out at the runways and hangars and even the fields where the kids were playing soccer, and it took him to a place of nostalgia.
He used to be one of those kids, playing on a base field. With his father in the Navy and his mother in the Air Force, he was very familiar with base life.
The only thing that could have made Saturday even better would have been for Collins to have his mother with him.
“Wish mom could be here with me, but she’ll be back soon and we’ll make some stuff happen,” Collins said.
For Williams, who isn’t as far removed from his days of living on base with his parents, Hill AFB felt incredibly familiar.
“I’m kind of used to it,” he said. “We always go to the military base to bowl or go out to eat and, obviously, come and play basketball, so for me, it’s like right up my alley.”
Though Saturday’s showcase wasn’t an exact display of who the Jazz are going to be in the 2024-25 season, it was a small chance for the families at the base to get acquainted with the roster and enjoy some highlight plays.