As a result, the family moved a lot during Collins' youth, spending time in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Turkey.

On November 13, 2014, he signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at Wake Forest, joining fellow 2015 prospects Bryant Crawford and Doral Moore.

On October 22, 2017, in his third ever NBA game, Collins recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 116–104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Due to an injury to Luke Babbitt, Collins played 36 minutes and scored a career high 21 points in a 96–85 losing effort to the San Antonio Spurs on November 20, 2017.

Although the Hawks ended up losing 116–103, he impressed with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in a career high 38 minutes.

Late in the November 30 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Collins suffered a shoulder injury and was expected to be out for 2 to 3 weeks.

With the postseason out of reach, Collins saw an increase in minutes and made his fifth start of the season on February 14 in a rematch with the Pistons.

Although Atlanta managed just 24 wins, Collins averaged 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on 57.6% shooting while tallying 11 double-doubles in his rookie season.

[20] On April 10, 2019, he scored 20 points and recorded a career-high 25 rebounds in a 135–134 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Hawks' season finale.

[22] On December 23, 2019, Collins returned from his suspension and recorded a double-double scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 121–118 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

[29] On July 7, 2023, Collins was traded to his hometown team the Utah Jazz in exchange for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick.