Collin Sexton’s Resurgence Is Fueling the Jazz

Collin Sexton is an empty-calorie offensive player, a stat-stuffing scorer who can’t contribute to winning, or so the perception goes, a perception so prevalent even Sexton’s own coach, Will Hardy, bought in last season.

“Probably seeped into my head a little bit,” Hardy said. “It would be like taking somebody on a date but calling their ex first. I’m not sure why you would ever do that.”

Collin Sexton is not an empty-calorie player, a stat-stuffing scorer who can’t contribute because the Utah Jazz are winning—15 of the last 21 games since mid-December, to be precise—and Sexton is a big reason why. He’s averaging 17.4 points and connecting on 37.6% of his threes. In 21 games as a starter, those numbers jump to 22.7 ppg and 41.7%.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Hardy said. “We’re lucky to have him.”

This season hasn’t been so much a revival for Sexton than a resurgence. His numbers were solid last season: 14.3 points, above 50% from the floor and nearly 40% from three. But he struggled with turnovers, made shaky decisions as a playmaker and didn’t defend. This season, his assists are up (five per game as a starter), his turnovers are down and his defense has been serviceable. Over the last 15 games, Utah’s defensive rating (113.9) ranks in the top 10, per NBA.com.

Ask Sexton to explain his improved play and he can easily trace it. Film work, he says. Not the amount of it, but the way he studied it.

“Understanding what certain teams’ tendencies are better,” Sexton says over a Zoom call last week. He studied defenses, gobbling up information to improve his decision-making.

“Just learning a little bit more schemes and understanding the game a little bit more. I just wanted to go out there and just be better and be more prepared. I feel like when you prepare, you play a little bit better.”

There’s health. Sexton missed all but 11 games of the 2021–22 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a knee injury. When he was traded to Utah in ’22—Sexton signed a four-year, $72 million sign-and-trade deal with the Jazz that was part of the swap that sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cavs—Sexton pushed himself hard to get back on the floor. Perhaps, he thinks now, too hard.

“I wanted to show people that I was back,” Sexton says. “And I didn’t feel like myself. But I was able to push myself mentally to come back a lot faster than I was even supposed to.”

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Last summer, Sexton says, was different. There was no rehab. “I was really able to work on my game,” he says. The confidence playing on his troublesome left knee fully returned. “Confidence is everything,” he says. “Not worrying about pushing off or not trying to change your game just because you are nervous or scared. I feel like that's something that people have to get over that hump. Now, I’m back at full swing.”

And there’s motivation. Sexton admits the losing player label bothered him. “Because I consider myself a winner,” Sexton says. He won titles in high school. In his one season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, he was part of the team that advanced to the second round of the men’s NCAA tournament. When Sexton returned to Cleveland last month, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised him for his role in Cleveland’s rebuild.

“I had to win some type of form to even get to [the NBA],” Sexton says. “People saying I’m not a winner and stuff, it just gives me a little bit more motivation, a little bit more of a chip on my shoulder.”

The Jazz will take it. Utah’s offensive rating this month (123, per NBA.com) is third in the NBA. Sexton isn’t just delivering. He’s delivering in key moments. He scored 19 points in 18 minutes in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks in early January. Two days later, he racked up 22 points in 21 minutes in a win over the Denver Nuggets. He scored 30 points in 24 minutes in a win over the Indiana Pacers. In each of those games, he shot at least 57% from the floor. Couple that with improved playmaking (5.3 assists per game this month) and Sexton has emerged as an offensive force.

“Every day I’ve been coming in, and every day I’m working on my decision-making,” Sexton says. “Reading through different [scouting reports] just so that when I’m out there it comes natural. If the game says shoot, shoot. If the game says pass, pass and not overthink it.”

If a Jazz surge sounds familiar, it should. Last season, Utah started off hot before tailing off in the second half of the season. This season, the Jazz waited until midseason to make a run. While rough stretches are inevitable, Sexton says this version of the team is better equipped to handle them.

“I feel like we have the coaches, we have the personnel and we got the organization all behind us,” Sexton says. “So when we’re out there, we’re competing not just for ourselves but for the whole building. And sometimes when you have people believing in you, you can go achieve whatever. So that’s how I view it. And I feel like right now we’re coming together. Sometimes we might lose, but it doesn’t mean we need to split apart. Sometimes [losses] might make us a little bit stronger. I feel like that’s what happened in the beginning of the season.”

As for Hardy, Sexton says his relationship with his coach hasn’t changed much. There were some tense moments last season. There have been some tense moments in this one. “I would say he screams and yells at me a whole lot during the game, even after the game or even sometimes before the game,” Sexton says. But both know any eruptions flow from a positive place. Hardy needs the best of Sexton to win. And Sexton needs Hardy to do whatever it takes to bring it out of him.

“If Coach is yelling and getting on you, then he wants best,” Sexton says. “Once he stops screaming and yelling, then you should be worried.”