Collin Gillespie (born June 25, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

of the

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(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the

Valley Suns The Valley Suns are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League and the affiliate of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Based in Tempe, Arizona and officially created on February 14, 2024, the team will play ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and women's rowing where they compete in the Coastal Athletic Association (Football Champions ...

. Gillespie was named Big East co-Player of the Year in 2021 and won it outright the following year.

Early life

Gillespie is the son of a police officer. He attended

Archbishop Wood Catholic High School Archbishop Wood Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school was founded in 1964 in Warminster Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It sits on thirty-two acre tract of land ...

, where he was coached by John Mosco. Gillespie had no Division I scholarship offers coming into his senior year, but received offers from Rider,

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

and Villanova after strong play in a tournament. He scored 42 points in a regular-season win over Neumann Goretti featuring Kentucky recruit

Quade Green Quade Green (born May 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Golden Eagle Ylli in the Kosovo Superleague. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies and the Kentucky Wildcats. High school career Green attended ...

. As a senior, he led the team to a PIAA Class 5A state title in 2017. Gillespie averaged 24.1 points per game as a senior and was named Philadelphia Player of the Year by the

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...

as well as Catholic League Most Valuable Player. He signed a letter of intent with Villanova on April 14, 2017, joining Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Jermaine Samuels in the class of 2021.

College career

Gillespie enrolled at Villanova in the fall of 2017, and he wanted to redshirt his freshman year at the school, but coach Jay Wright decided against doing it because Gillespie "was playing above his years." Soon breaking into the rotation, Gillespie scored in double figures in his second collegiate game, but he also had to learn to adjust to the quickness of the college game. Gillespie had to miss more than a month in December and January due to a fractured bone in his left hand sustained in a December 10 practice. However, he returned to action in a January 17 road win over Georgetown. He provided quality minutes and had eight points including two three-pointers in a February 1 win over Creighton due to the absence of Phil Booth with a similar hand injury. Gillespie made his first start on February 10, in an 86–75 win over

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Gillespie scored nine points and had a steal in a win versus Radford. He had four points and five rebounds in the 79–62 NCAA championship game win over

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He averaged 4.3 points per game in 14.4 minutes per game. Gillespie posted a 2.6-to-1 assist to turnover ratio, which Wright attributed to him thinking about his teammates and trying to make them better. Gillespie scored a season-high 30 points in a 77–65 win against Georgetown on February 3, 2019. On March 9, he had 22 points in a 79–75 loss to

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

. As a sophomore, Gillespie averaged 10.9 points per game. Coming into his junior season, Gillespie broke his nose in practice, forcing him to wear a mask for several games. Gillespie had 27 points and six assists in an 87–78 loss to Baylor in the championship game of the Myrtle Beach Classic. He was named to the All-Tournament Team and

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

player of the week on November 25. On January 28, 2020, Gillespie had his first double-double with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 79–59 win over St. John's. Gillespie scored a season-high 29 points on February 16, in a 76–56 win over

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. At the conclusion of the regular season, Gillespie was selected to the Second Team All-Big East. He averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on a team that finished 24–7. Coming into his senior season, Gillespie was named to the

Bob Cousy Award The Bob Cousy Award, sponsored by the College of the Holy Cross, is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate point guard. It is named after six-time National Basketball Assoc ...

watchlist as well as Preseason First Team All-Big East. He tore his MCL during a 72–60 win over Creighton on March 3, 2021, ending his season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Gillespie was named Big East Co-Player of the Year alongside teammate

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Jeremiah Christian Robinson-Earl (born November 3, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. High scho ...

and Seton Hall's

Sandro Mamukelashvili Alexander "Sandro" Mamukelashvili ( ka, ალექსანდრე "სანდრო" მამუკელაშვილი; born 23 May 1999) is a Georgian-American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the Nation ...

. He averaged 14 points and 4.6 assists per game. Gillespie decided to take advantage of the additional season of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 15, 2022, Gillespie scored a career-high 33 points despite playing on a swollen ankle in an 89–84 win at

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Professional career

Denver Nuggets / Grand Rapids Gold (2022–2024)

After going undrafted in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

, Gillespie signed a

with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. Gillespie joined the Nuggets'

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

team. In his Summer League debut, Gillespie scored 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists in a 78–85 loss to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. In four Summer League games, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. On July 30, 2022, the Nuggets announced that Gillespie had undergone surgery for a lower leg fracture and that he would be out indefinitely. Gillespie ended his rookie season as an

NBA champion The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Easter ...

when the Nuggets beat the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

in the

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. On July 18, 2023, Gillespie re-signed with the

on another two-way contract.

Phoenix / Valley Suns (2024–present)

On July 2, 2024, Gillespie signed a

with the

. Gillespie would make his Phoenix Suns debut on October 26, with the Suns winning 114–102 over the defending Western Conference champion

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

in Phoenix's home opener. Gillespie recorded a season-high 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, in the team's 23-point comeback win against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

on March 4, 2025. His point total, along with 3 assists and 2 rebounds, came in 15 minutes of playing time during the third and fourth quarters. His play style during the game drew comparisons to Suns great

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

. Gillespie made his first career start on March 17 against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, ending the game with 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting.

National team career

In the summer of 2019, Gillespie was a part of the

United States National team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

who competed at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in Peru. The team won bronze, defeating Dominican Republic behind 25 points from Gillespie.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 24 , , 0 , , 9.4 , , .464 , , .395 , , .667 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .0 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Phoenix , 33 , , 9 , , 14.0 , , .430 , , .433 , , .864 , , 2.4 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 57 , , 9 , , 12.0 , , .441 , , .422 , , .794 , , 1.7 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 32 , , 1 , , 14.4 , , .452 , , .394 , , .800 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 35 , , 35 , , 29.4 , , .409 , , .379 , , .839 , , 2.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 31 , , 31 , , 34.1 , , .406 , , .357 , , .817 , , 3.7 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 20 , , 20 , , 33.4 , , .428 , , .376 , , .833 , , 3.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Villanova , 38 , , 38 , , 34.2 , , .434 , , .415 , , .905 , , 3.8 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 15.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 156 , , 125 , , 28.9 , , .422 , , .387 , , .848 , , 2.9 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 11.9

References

External links

*
Villanova Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Collin 1999 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Denver Nuggets players Grand Rapids Gold players Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball People from Warminster, Pennsylvania Phoenix Suns players Point guards Basketball players from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Undrafted NBA players United States men's national basketball team players Valley Suns players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players