The LA Clippers will be without John Collins on Wednesday night when they host the Indiana Pacers. This will be the second consecutive game Collins will be out with a neck sprain after injuring his neck Sunday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Collins initially suffered the injury in the Clippers' second game during the All-Star break against the Los Angeles Lakers. At the end of the first half, John Collins went up sinking an alley-oop attemptBut was undercut by Jackson Hayes, resulting in a dangerous landing in which Collins hit his head on the hardwood and immediately began bleeding.
A dazed Collins ran back to the Clippers locker room with a towel pressed to his left eyebrow. A head injury and neck pain caused him to miss the remainder of that game and the Clippers' next two games against the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves.
In total, Collins had eight days between games to recover from the injury and neck pain. The Clippers forward returned to the lineup Sunday against the Pelicans, playing 25 minutes early feeling another shock On the left side of his head/neck area, going down due to pain, and immediately grabbing his right arm.
John Collins finished that game with 15 points, seven rebounds, one assist and two steals before suffering a neck injury and returning to the Clippers locker room.
John Collins suffered these two neck injuries within a span of 10 days:
- 1/20/26 - Landed hard on left side of head, avoided injury, but had head injury + neck pain.
- 3/1/26 - In the first game, hits the head/neck on the same left side on a drive and immediately catches… https://t.co/3Aj6WFgQH5 pic.twitter.com/rwzmpnkP32- Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) 4 March 2026
The Clippers have now ruled Collins out for Wednesday night's game against the Indiana Pacers with an updated injury description: Collins is dealing with a neck strain.
The fact that Collins has been ruled out a day early obviously doesn't bode well for his availability in the near future, but that's to be expected after the traits he displayed against the Pelicans.
Collins also grabbed his right arm and backed him all the way downcourt after striking the left side of his neck.
It remains to be seen how long John Collins will be out, as the Clippers are scheduled to play a home game on Wednesday before going on a two-game road trip against the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.
In 54 games for the Clippers this season, John Collins has averaged 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three.
