The return of Darren Collison surprised many around the league. The point guard best known for his stints for the Pacers famously left the league in 2019, citing religious reasons. Now, he signed a 10-day contract for the Los Angeles Lakers and might even remain on the roster for the remainder of the season. As his return to the league is anticipated, let's dig into Darren Collison's net worth in 2021.
Darren Collison's Net Worth in 2021 (estimated): $20 million
Darren Collison's net worth in 2021 is $20 million. This is according to numerous sources, including Idol Networth. The majority of this money comes from his NBA career, as he spent around 10 years playing professionally. However, Collison also had other ways of income during his career, including his training facility in Orange County. Before we go into this, we can see how Collison got where he is today.
Collison was born in 1987 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. In 2005, before entering the NCAA, he was ranked as one of the best point guards in the nation, and within the top 100 of the whole country. He spent his high-school career locally, where he dominated and earned a spot at the premier college in California, UCLA.
At the start of his Bruins career, Collison was the backup of future NBA player Jordan Farmar. However, that only lasted for the first season, as in the other three he spent in Bruins uniform, Collison was the starter. During his UCLA stint, he played with the likes of Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Luc Mbah A Moute, and Jrue Holiday. In total, in four seasons at UCLA, Collison played 142 games, which is tied for the most in Bruins history. His UCLA teams made the Final Four three times, falling in the Finals once.
After that, it was time for Collison to declare for the 2009 NBA Draft. In a draft class led by Blake Griffin, James Harden, Stephen Curry, and others, Darren Collison ended up being drafted 21st by the New Orleans Hornets. The Louisiana franchise was in for a backup point guard, as they had Chris Paul at the time. Upon coming to New Orleans, Collison did not play much, but then Paul got hurt. When he fell down, it was Collison that picked up the slack, even breaking the Hornets record for most assists in a game for a rookie, with 18 assists versus the Memphis Grizzlies.
Collison then broke his own record, as he had 20 assists in a game versus the Golden State Warriors. He also had a triple-double in his rookie season, scoring 18 points, handing out 12 assists, and grabbing 13 rebounds. All of this brought Collison into the All-Rookie first team, and he was fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Brandon Jennings, Steph Curry, and the eventual winner, Tyreke Evans.
Unfortunately for Collison, he was not able to build upon that momentum going forward. Of course, he was still in the NBA and he was a great addition to any squad he was on, but he never made that leap to a star that some possibly expected from him. After just one season for the Hornets, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he spent the next two years. After that, he had two one-season stints for the Mavericks and the Clippers and then spent three years playing for the Sacramento Kings.
All of this, largely, provided to fill Darren Collison's net worth in 2021.
His last team in the league before the early retirement was Indiana, where Collison played the best basketball of his career. In his first season back in Indiana, Collison led the whole league in three-point percentage with 46.8%, as he overall had good numbers. After that, he played one more season for the Pacers before calling it quits in 2019 due to his religion.
Even though many teams offered him north of $10 million per season, Collison decided to retire at the age of 31 due to his religious status. He was a Jehovah's Witness and decided against pursuing his NBA career further. Overall, he made over $43 million from just the NBA. The majority of this money comes from his last two seasons with Indiana, which paid him $10 million each, but even before that, he made solid money for a backup guard.
However, as it was noted above, this was not his only income. He currently owns and operates Pro's Vision, a training facility in Orange County, California. He is active there, trying to assemble other professional athletes that can train future generations in sports. Other than that, not much is known about other income paths of the former UCLA guard, as he has generally kept this part of his life quiet.
Nonetheless, were you at all stunned by Darren Collison's net worth in 2021?