“Everyone has a vet.” That statement from Kevin Garnett has stuck with me. Sam Mitchell was his. He was Rajon Rondo’s. It’s the circle of NBA life. You would be hard-pressed to find a player whose career was not set on its course by a veteran in his first locker room. Those who become vets themselves pass those lessons along. These are their stories.

[Previously on My Vet: Ray Allen • Vince Carter • Chris Mullin • Dennis Scott • Purvis Short • Isiah Thomas]

Zach Collins is entering his third season on the Portland Trail Blazers, presumably stepping into an expanded role with the Western Conference finalists following the free-agent departures of a handful of his veteran teammates in the frontcourt. The 21-year-old former lottery pick took time from his preseason preparation in Portland — where nearly all of the Blazers have been working out together for the past three weeks — to talk to Yahoo Sports about his NBA experiences and influences.

Who is your vet, and how did that relationship develop?

Collins: For me it was Ed Davis. I had a couple my rookie year. Meyers Leonard was one of them, too, but it was mostly Ed Davis, because we played together a lot. He went out of his way to help me a lot.

Obviously, in practice he was always talking to me, but on the road he would come to my hotel room, talk to me and see how I was doing. He let me ask him any questions. During certain points of the season where the team was maybe tired or we’d lose a couple games, and he would come to check on me, so that was cool.

And he was just really fun to play with. He made it a lot easier for me, especially on the court, and he gave me some tips off the court as well, so he was definitely big for me my first year. Strictly from a basketball standpoint, he does a lot of the dirty work and makes the game easier for his teammates, so he’s a good dude.

What on-court lessons did you learn from them?

Collins: He was always consistent with his effort. Maybe he wouldn’t hit some shots one night or perform the way he wanted to skill-wise, but every single night his effort was there, and it was contagious for the other four guys on the court.

For me coming in my rookie year, playing so many games, just realizing how consistent you have to be with everything, and you have to bring it every night, it’s something that I’m still working on. ... He’s been here for a while, and for him to do that every night, that was definitely something that I learned from him.

What off-court lessons did you learn from them?

Collins: I learned more of this from Meyers a little bit, but also Ed when he would talk to me on the road, but just kind of staying even-keeled with everything. The season is so up and down, and media and talk shows and everything are so in the moment. One day you’re the worst team in the league, and the next day you’re the best team in the league. So, just hearing all that noise and being able to keep your mind level and not get too high or too low is something both those guys taught me.

Meyers went through a lot of scrutiny, and for him to be positive every day, he just kind of led by example in that way, so learning that from him was big for me.

What were your rookie duties?

Collins: My life as a rookie was pretty easy, because I never had to a lot of crazy things. If we were going on a road trip, me and Caleb Swanigan would have to go get food for the guys, but even then they would usually pay us on the plane if we got the order right, so that was nice. Usually it was just from one place. ...

Like, someone would text in the group chat: “Chik-fil-A” or “Wendy’s” — those are probably the two biggest ones. Then, everyone who’s been in the league at least three or four years would just put in their order, and you would have to go get it. There were sometimes we had a practice before we went on a flight and they won’t text in the group chat until we were like halfway to the airport, so then you have to go figure it out, because if you’re late with coach [Terry] Stotts, that’s one of his pet peeves, so that’s a tough thing. Either you go get it and you’re late, or you don’t get it and you’re on time but you’ve got to deal with the players. It didn’t happen too often, but when they did ask for something, that was a big thing.

Story continues