Ex-Nets C Jason Collins Says Coronavirus 'Felt Like I Got Punched by Mike Tyson'

Former NBA player Jason Collins described how he felt during his bout with COVID-19.

"It felt like I got punched by Mike Tyson," he said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "Like Mike Tyson in his prime, right in the heart. And all the feeling that was associated with that."

Collins said he was worried he was suffering a heart attack on the ninth day of the coronavirus and checked into a hospital a day later. Doctors told him "this is what happens" when the virus peaks. 

"It was definitely the sickest I've ever been in my life," he said.

Collins said he thought he and his boyfriend, Brunson Green, contracted the coronavirus when they were in New York last month. He was a special guest for the Brooklyn Nets' Pride Night, and it was later announced four players on the team tested positive for COVID-19.

He also revealed he found inspiration from Rita Wilson and her husband, Tom Hanks, who also recovered from the coronavirus.

"When I saw her, I saw she turned a corner, she's obviously feeling better," he said. "A day later or two days later, it was announced they're feeling better. So that was my hope. I was looking for stories of hope. They were definitely two people who were helpful to me. And my boyfriend, too. We were looking for stories of hope."

Collins, who was the NBA's first openly gay player, suited up for the Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards from the 2001-02 season until the 2013-14 one.

He averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds a night during his career.

As for the NBA, the season has been suspended since shortly after Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus on March 11. News broke that a number of players, including Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant and Marcus Smart, tested positive after Gobert, and it still remains uncertain whether the season will return.