Gay basketball players in nba
BY: Zaniah Boykin
Published 5 months ago
The road to LGBTQIA+ visibility in sports has been a long and bumpy one, especially in professional basketball. For years, the NBA and other major leagues were tardy to embrace openly homosexual players, but things are changing. Today, more athletes are stepping up, living their truth, and making basketball a more inclusive space. The courage of these players is shifting the culture and inspiring future generations. Let’s receive a look at some of the most notable queer basketball players who have helped lead this evolution.
1. Jason Collins
In 2013, Collins made history as the first openly male lover player in the NBA while playing for the Brooklyn Nets. At a time when few athletes in any sport had come out, Collins’ bravery was a game-changer for LGBTQIA+ visibility in professional sports. His courage paved the way for others, and since retiring, he has continued to advocate for equality. Collins remains among the most significant figures in the LGBTQIA+ rights movement within professional athletics.
2. Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner is one of the most high-profile openly male lover basketball players ever. Acknowledged as a dominant compel in the W
Welcome to my annual Who’s Gay in the WNBA Report! For those of you who are novel, every year I crack down the list of athletes who are openly queer in the league. As a queer person who has played basketball my entire life, the off-court drama is always equally as exciting as the on-court display of skills. Knowing who’s homosexual and who’s dating who only adds to that for me. If you’re more of a pure viewer of the game and prefer only knowing what’s going on while the clock is running, I do regularly craft WNBA TikToks that I like to think are pretty informative!
The league is well known to include some of the leading pre-game walk-up outfits in all of professional sports, so you’re missing out if you don’t pursue at least the @wnba account on Instagram. Here’s a complete list of all out gay players in the league, broken down by team. For my purposes, “Out” means confirmed by the player either in an interview or on their social media. No matter how masculine presenting someone is, I will not be speculating!
Last Updated: 6/27/25
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces are a very great team and as extended as A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray are both there they’ll always hold a shot at
This piece is primarily motivated by a list of currently out LGBT players in the NBA:
It’s quite a list. It’s why the Suns’ Ryan Resch - their vice president of basketball strategy and evaluation, in case you didn’t know - made headlines when he came out this June. I’ll admit that I rolled my eyes a bit. But in a sport where literally zero of the ~450 players are out, it was newsworthy. It also spurred the following, admittedly belated reflection the state of LGBT representation in men’s basketball, with a spotlight on the Bucks’ Pride Night.
Let’s start by placing the issue of LGBT inclusion in context. The NBA is one of several professional men’s sports leagues in the United States. The US has been increasingly accepting of LGBT folks, although the trajectory has been rockier for transgender individuals. However, acceptance is far from 100%, with recent evidence including Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill (and a variety of copycats around the country) and three-quarters of the Republican members of the House voting against a bill codifying same-sex attracted marriage into law. Unfortunately, there remains plenty of justification for not wanting to be out in the US; blame should not fall
Jason Collins
(1978-)
Who Is Jason Collins?
Jason Paul Collins was born in Northridge, California on December 2, 1978. After playing basketball with his twin brother, Jarron, in high school and at Stanford University, Collins developed into a capable NBA defender for multiple teams. On April 29, 2013, he became the first active male sportsman in the four major North American professional sports to proclaim his homosexuality.
Early Years and Education
Jason and Jarron played basketball for Harvard-Westlake High School in North Hollywood, California, where future television and film star Jason Segel served as their backup. They won a pair of California State championships together. As a senior in 1997, Jason was named to the McDonald's Lofty School Basketball All-American Team.
The twins enrolled at Stanford University. Limited to eight games over his first two seasons because of injuries, Jason averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his senior year and was an honorable mention on the All-American Team. He graduated with a degree in communications and was the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA draft with the New Jersey Nets.
NBA Career
Collins never became a star in t
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