John Collins receives accolades for upside and athleticism in NBA Rookie Survey

Every year, the NBA brings its incoming rookie class together in New York for an extensive photo shoot (one such photo included as the header on this post) and a survey of each player in attendance. That survey is tabulated by John Schuhmann of NBA.com and, this year, there was some real love for Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins.

While the former Wake Forest standout did not “win” any single category, it is clear that his fellow rookies have a high opinion of Collins. In addition to receiving votes in the “best career” category, Collins finished third among his peers when prompted about the “biggest steal” according to draft position. The No. 19 pick received 12.2 percent of the vote, finishing behind Utah’s Donovan Mitchell (18.9 percent) and Dallas point guard Dennis Smith (13.5 percent) on the hierarchy.

Elsewhere, Collins also finished third in the category of “most athletic” and, well, that is anything but a surprise. He landed behind Dennis Smith and Oklahoma City’s Terrance Ferguson with 10.4 percent of the votes and Collins’ display of burst and dunking ability in Las Vegas likely went a long way toward bolstering his reputation in that regard.

It should be noted that Collins was not alone in receiving attention, as Tyler Dorsey garnered votes as the best shooter in the class. Still, the Collins lovefest continues and, this time, it comes directly from his peers.

Stay tuned.