Only three short years ago in June of 2019, 31 year old point guard Darren Collison announced his retirement from the NBA. The announcement came as a surprise as free agency was only days from beginning and Collison was expected to draw interest from multiple teams.
“While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith.” Collison told ESPN in a letter at the time, “I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me. I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched. With that being said, I have decided to retire from the NBA.”
Flash forward through Covid-19, an unprecedented NBA season complete with a bubble at Disneyworld, and the return of the NBA to attempted normalcy and Collison is back. On March 22, 2022 NBA insider Shams Charania tweeted, “Sources: Free agent guard Darren Collison is joining the Los Angeles Lakers’ G League affiliate – South Bay Lakers (17-9) – in hopes of helping lead the No. 2 seed to a G League title as well as earning a call-up to an NBA team.”
The point guard previously signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 3 games with the team alongside superstar Lebron James back in December 2021. But the new contract with the South Bay Lakers has seen him in a regular rotation role once again. Collison debuted with the team on March 25, 2022 with a solid 12 points in 24 minutes. In his second game with the team, his first as starter, Collison put up 20 points in 37 minutes. Unfortunately in his third game, he began having trouble with his hamstring and has not been available to play with the team since.
The South Bay Lakers have finished their regular season and are set to compete in the playoffs starting with a first round home game on Tuesday April 5, 2022 at 7:30pm.