{"id":93624,"date":"2024-08-30T19:38:22","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T23:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=93624"},"modified":"2024-08-30T19:38:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T23:38:22","slug":"jazz-collin-sexton-makes-bold-top-10-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/30\/jazz-collin-sexton-makes-bold-top-10-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Jazz Lottery Pick Makes Bold Top-10 Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Utah Jazz guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sextoco01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Collin Sexton<\/a> isn\u2019t the most vocal player off the court. He\u2019ll do his media pressers, often after a game. However, in the offseason, he\u2019s usually off the radar.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe he\u2019s just coming into himself off the court as well as on it. Nonetheless, in a recent episode of<em> It Is What It Is<\/em>, the 25-year-old broke tradition.<\/p>\n<h2>Jazz\u2019s Collin Sexton Makes Bold Top-10 Claim<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I can be,\u201d Sexton answers when asked if he\u2019s a top-five point guard. \u201cI don\u2019t think so just because of opportunity. At the end of the day, my opportunity is coming and I\u2019m going to take advantage of it when it does come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"COLLIN SEXTON SAYING HE&#039;S A TOP 10 POINT GUARD IN THE NBA! S4 EP61 SHORT CLIP\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EYS6LjcachM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Then asked if he\u2019s top-10, his tune changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I&#8217;m putting myself in there, for sure,\u201d Sexton exclaims. \u201cI put myself against anybody. At the end of the day, I don&#8217;t back down from nobody. I got a different type of chip on my shoulder. I got a different type of grind that when I step between those lines, it&#8217;s me against you.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Balancing Confidence And Calculation<\/h3>\n<p>As evidenced by his comments on <em>It Is What It Is<\/em>, Sexton is one of the more confident players. This is also reflected in his aggressiveness, the young guard fearlessly driving to the hoop.<\/p>\n<p>At times, this has gotten Sexton in a bit of trouble. Upon entering the NBA, he played at one speed, tunnel vision narrowing as he shot through the lane. An intangible and essential trait became viewed as a limiting one, questions about his ability to run a team getting louder <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2022\/07\/15\/the-collin-sexton-sweepstakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">as he lost value<\/a>. The end result was the Cleveland Cavaliers not only drafting another point guard (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garlada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darius Garland<\/a>), but handing him the keys to the offense.<\/p>\n<p>More of a natural facilitator, shooter, and ball-handler, Garland complemented Sexton\u2019s skill. However, as he was more calculated, he also was seen as more savvy. Now, Garland\u2019s approach borders on too passive, showing the delicate balance point guards must have.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Sexton\u2019s gained trust from his second team by becoming a more heady shot-creator and playmaker. This led to the former top-10 pick averaging 21.1 points and 5.6 assists per game when in the first unit last season. Those are his best numbers as a starter since averaging 24.3 points and 4.4 assists per game in 2020-21.<\/p>\n<p>He makes better passes, quicker decisions, and sees the floor better. He\u2019s more aware of how to use his exceptional speed. However, he isn\u2019t a top-five point guard, as he admits.<\/p>\n<h3>Is He Really Top-10?<\/h3>\n<p>As for whether Sexton\u2019s currently a top-10 point guard, let\u2019s look at the field.<\/p>\n<p>Golden State Warriors superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a>; Dallas Mavericks playmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a>; Oklahoma City Thunder leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>; Philadelphia 76ers rising star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/maxeyty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyrese Maxey<\/a>; Milwaukee Bucks veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a>; Indiana Pacers floor general <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/halibty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyrese Haliburton<\/a>; Memphis Grizzlies firecracker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/moranja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ja Morant<\/a>; and Atlanta Hawks engine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youngtr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trae Young<\/a> are the point guards who most would say are better than Sexton. That would put Sexton top-10. However, Sacramento Kings guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/f\/foxde01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a>, Boston Celtics guards <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/whitede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derrick White<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holidjr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jrue Holiday<\/a>, Detroit Pistons guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cunnica01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cade Cunningham<\/a>, and New Orleans Pelicans guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murrade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dejounte Murray<\/a> arguably push Sexton to top-15.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, guards like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vanvlfr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fred VanVleet<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lowryky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Lowry<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/conlemi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Conley<\/a> are praised for their decision-making, defense, and 3-point shooting. However, they\u2019re not putting much pressure on the defense outside of facilitating. Veterans like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a> are better all-time, but in the twilights of their career. Some will still have them ranked above Sexton but, all things considered, it\u2019s a tough argument to make.<\/p>\n<p>The best one could say is that the Atlanta native can play like a top-10 point guard any day of the week. To actually be one though, he needs <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/24\/3-nba-players-heading-into-make-or-break-seasons\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">to do it more consistently<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton isn\u2019t the most vocal player off the court. He\u2019ll do his media pressers, often after a game. However, in the offseason, he\u2019s usually off the radar. Maybe he\u2019s just coming into himself off the court as well as on it. Nonetheless, in a recent episode of It Is What It [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":93648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1608,62,3,36],"tags":[1594,1937,4557],"class_list":["post-93624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jazz","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","category-podcasts","tag-collin-sexton","tag-darius-garland","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}