FC Barcelona in the late 2000s and early 2010s inspired many figures across the sports world beyond soccer, and the NBA has several examples.
The Golden State Warriors led by Stephen Curry are the most well-known case.
The NBA’s dominant team of the past decade looked to FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola to translate that collective, lightning-fast ball movement to basketball, and went on to win four championships.
However, there is one player who became captivated by the next version of Barça that ruled the game: the side coached by Luis Enrique, which won the treble in 2015 with the trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar Jr..
That player is John Collins, now a high-end supporting piece for James Harden and Kawhi Leonard on the Los Angeles Clippers.
Collins became so taken with MSN that he even drinks mate before games, something rarely seen in NBA locker rooms, and even less so from an American player.
John Collins of the LA Clippers
NBAE via Getty Images
Speaking with Gigantes del Basket reporter Alejandro Gaitán in Toronto, Collins said he drinks mate because of Messi, Suárez, and Neymar, crediting them with inspiring him to unlock his best version.
That’s why he drinks mate constantly, and even owns a set he bought in Argentina. Mate is one of the five essentials the power forward takes on every road trip, as he revealed last year in a video with the Utah Jazz, his previous team.
“If I have anyone to thank for getting me into it, it’s thanks to Leo Messi, thanks to Neymar, MSN, and Luis Suárez. When I was a kid watching Barcelona, all of you were carrying mate cups everywhere. So when I became a professional, that’s one of the things I took from them,” Collins explained.
Inspired by that irresistible Luis Enrique Barça, the Clippers forward was selected 19th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the draft, in 2017, the final year of the Asturian coach on Barça’s bench.
Now fully mature at 28, Collins has established himself in the NBA and this season has been one of the drivers of the Clippers’ unexpected resurgence, averaging 13.4 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist while shooting 55% from the field and an impressive 42.6% from three-point range. Like a magic potion, mate seems to suit Collins just fine.