The Nick Collison Mailbag: On Taking Charges, Zombies, and Body Hair

Nick Collison has done a great job this season documenting his playing experience at GQ Magazine. His latest addition to the season's chronicles can be found here, where he answers a number of deep and thought provoking questions, like how hairy he is:

The Nick Collison Guest Blog: Nick's Playoff Blowout Mailbag! | GQ

Please be sure to read the whole thing, but here are a select few quotes to whet the appetite:

What are the best parts of playing in the NBA?

Your teammate's weird lives are like your own weird life, so you can relate to each other. The ongoing jokes, the dinners, the flights and the arguments are what I think I will miss most when I'm done playing. Also, it's such a diverse group of people. I grew up in Iowa, and the guys I spend all my time with are from places like Washington D.C., L.A., The Congo and Chicago.

(I love how he just tosses "The Congo" in there in between L.A. and Chicago, as if every team has a 6'10" Congolese playing for them.)

How do you absorb the hits when taking a charge?

I usually flex my powerful ab muscles and my chest to brace for the collision, then when I get hit and fall, I try to push off my heels and slide back, as opposed to letting my back go straight into the floor. It usually doesn't hurt. Every once in a while you bang knees or get hit in the family jewels, but not often.

Which Thunder player would not survive a zombie apocalypse?

See below.

(Everything about this pic is awesome, but most awesome is the fact that Serge Ibaka has a giant teddy bear on the plane for some reason.)

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Be sure to check out the rest of Nick's blog entries here:

• Vol. 1: How I Spent My (Extended) Summer Vacation
• Vol. 2: Daily Life in the NBA, Then and Now
• Vol. 3: The Exquisite Art of Rookie Hazing
• Vol. 4: How To Survive in the NBA When You're Not a Superstar
• Vol. 5: Nick Takes His Nicknames Very Seriously