Ella Collier is Denmark’s 6-foot-3 middle blocker. To her opponents, she’s a mismatch before she even steps foot on the volleyball court. To Dominique Wilkins, she’s Jason’s daughter. To her mother, Katie Collier, she’s a reminder of everything she loved about her late husband and once-emerging NBA star, Jason Collier. Ella keeps her father’s memory close. She wears No. 40 for the Danes, which is the same number Jason wore during his two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
Jason Collier Rumors
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Jason Collier
Position: -
Born: 09/08/77
Height: 7-0 / 2.13
Weight:259 lbs. / 117.9 kg.
Earnings: $6,990,240 ($9,822,305*)
Born: 09/08/77
Height: 7-0 / 2.13
Weight:259 lbs. / 117.9 kg.
Earnings: $6,990,240 ($9,822,305*)
Jason died in 2005 at 28 years old, four months before Ella’s second birthday. Jason, whose 7-foot frame allowed him to go toe-to-toe with NBA greats such as Shaquille O’Neal and Ben Wallace, died of an enlarged heart. “I would have been 2 that January,” Ella said. “I was young, so I don’t remember anything, but I have my whole family to tell me memories and stuff.”
“There was one game where Shaq stole his jersey out of his locker, and he was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He was going to do something with it. Shaq was so jealous of my dad for some reason. They were good friends – they were like ‘frenemies,’ because they were on different teams,” Ella said. “He was great friends with Dominique Wilkins. If I go to any game, Dominique always says hi.”
