Former Gonzaga Bulldogs one-and-done star Zach Collins signed a two-year, $35 million extension with the San Antonio Spurs, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports told ESPN on Sunday.

The extension will keep Collins with San Antonio through the 2025-26 season and represents a remarkable comeback for the big man, who missed nearly two full seasons due to injuries.

The 25-year-old was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, going to the Portland Trail Blazers after just one season in Spokane. Collins was a backup center to Przemek Karnowski on the 2016-17 team that went all the way to the national championship before falling to North Carolina. Collins averaged 10 points and 5.9 rebounds with the Zags, shooting 65.2% from the field and 47.6% from deep.

After two productive seasons as a young role player in Portland, Collins was primed to step into a starting spot in the 2019-20 season, but suffered a shoulder injury in the third game and did not return until the season was restarted in the bubble. Then he missed the entire 2020-21 season with an ankle injury, and ultimately was let go by Portland and signed by the Spurs where he returned to the floor late in the 2021-22 season. All told he appeared in just 39 games from 2019-2022.

However, he emerged as a key piece for San Antonio last season, appearing in 63 games and starting 26 while averaging a career-high 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while shooting 57.1% from two and 37.4% from deep.

Collins joins Devin Vassell and Tre Jones as Spurs players signing extensions this offseason as the franchise begins to put pieces together around star rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Andy Patton

Andy hosts the Locked on Zags and Locked on College Basketball podcasts, and serves Locked On in a marketing/digital content creator role as well. He lives just outside Portland with his wife Jenna and dog, Tillie.