Isaiah Collier Emerges
The day before the big trade, Collier put up 19 points and seven assists against the Toronto Raptors while starting in place of Keyonte George. In a game that featured Lauri Markkanen, Ace Bailey, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, he was the best player.
Then, the night that Utah completed their trade for Jackson, Collier tallied 22 assists in a win over the Indiana Pacers. That’s not just a career-high for Collier, who broke Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton’s single-season rookie assist record. It’s not just the most assists a Jazzman has had in a game since Stockton (h/t StatMuse) He’s the youngest player in NBA history to record 20+ assists in a single game.
Not LeBron James. Not Trae Young or Luka Doncic. Collier.
The 21-year-old followed up that scintillating showcase with a 25-point, 11-assist double-double against the Atlanta Hawks. For the second straight game, he played all 48 minutes. With that, he’s now developing a national reputation as an ironman and elite facilitator. More importantly, he’s showing the Jazz that he might be their true franchise point guard. That’s not to say that George, in the midst of a career season, should be demoted. However, the 6-foot-4 playmaker is closer to their Donovan Mitchell than their Deron Williams (or Stockton).
