Doug Collins finally the beneficiary of good timing as Hall of Fame calls

Doug Collins’ timing always seemed a little off.

Whether it was being robbed out of a gold medal in the infamous 1972 Olympics against the Soviet Union, or being removed as Bulls coach just before the Michael Jordan-Phil Jackson duo won six NBA titles or being brought back as an adviser in 2017 to try to clean up an organizational mess that proved irreparable, Collins seemed to make a career out of being on the wrong side of luck.

That changed Saturday, though, when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced his induction in the Class of 2024.

“Doug Collins’ basketball accomplishments are special,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “Doug did enough to be an Olympic basketball star. He was one of the NBA’s best guards and an All-Star four consecutive seasons before knee surgery prematurely ended his playing career. He then became a premier NBA coach who coached an All-Star Game and a Basketball Hall of Fame Gowdy Award winner for his broadcasting and TV game analysis.

“But Doug, who is a dear friend, also holds a special place in the hearts of Chicago Bulls fans and the franchise as the coach who started the climb toward the great dynasty of the 1990s by leading the Bulls and Michael Jordan to the franchise’s first 50-win season and conference finals appearance in more than a decade and later returning as an adviser and mentor to Bulls staff and coaches in the Tex Winter tradition.”

Collins didn’t just make a mark with the Bulls and Team USA. He was inducted because the Hall of Fame takes the entire basketball résumé into consideration, and there are few CVs that stack up with the former Benton High School standout’s.

Collins was a first-team All-American at Illinois State in 1973 after the Olympic controversy and a four-time All-Star with the 76ers, then began a career in coaching and TV broadcasting that showcased his wealth of basketball knowledge.

His direct interaction with the Bulls, however, started in May 1986, when he was named coach and immediately harnessed the star ability of a young Jordan and got the organization pointed in the right direction.

He led the Bulls to a 50-32 record in only his second season, and they made the Eastern Conference finals against the ‘‘Bad Boy’’ Pistons a year later. But with the Bulls unable to overcome the Pistons, Collins was fired in the summer of 1989.

Between coaching gigs with Detroit, Washington and Philadelphia, Collins was a standout broadcaster with almost every major network that carried the NBA, but his days with the Bulls weren’t finished.

In 2017, then-executive John Paxson brought Collins in as an adviser to try to stamp out the behind-the-scenes drama that was festering. Collins didn’t like former coach Fred Hoiberg’s leadership skills and had a say in his eventual dismissal, but he also had issues with former general manager Gar Forman.

The Forman situation reached a standstill, however, and that didn’t sit well with Collins. By the time Paxson stepped down and the Arturas Karnisovas regime was installed in 2020, Collins had quietly stepped away.

Joining Collins in the Class of ’24 are Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith, Seimone Augustus, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Herb Simon and Jerry West (for a third time).