NBA Draft prospect Collin Sexton is one of the few guard prospects expected to be selected in the lottery round.
Collin Sexton draws comparisons to many current NBA guards, but arguably his role model should be former OKC Thunder combo guard Victor Oladipo.
Collin Sexton was a five star point guard from the state of Georgia. Sexton held offers from blue bloods like Kansas, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina out of high school. He elected to go to the University of Alabama, and receive coaching from a former-NBA coach of the year Avery Johnson. Sexton is now viewed as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
Specifics:
- Height: 6’1.5″
- Weight: 183
- Wingspan: 6’7.25″
- Position: Point Guard
- Age: 19
- College: University of Alabama, Freshman.
- Stat-line: 33-games, 19-points per game, 3-rebounds, and 3-assists a game. Sexton shot 44-percent from the field, and 33-percent from 3-point land.
- Hometown: Mableton, Georgia
Strengths
Collin Sexton is a bit undersized. The University of Alabama listed him at 6’3 during his Crimson Tide career, but at the NBA combined he measured out to be 6’1. However, that will not determine his fate in the NBA.
Chris Paul stands at 6’1 himself, while being an undoubted Hall of Famer. Sexton has teams salivating over his ability to score at will. He can get difficult shots to go, finish at the rim, and is a crafty ball-handler.
Sexton averaged less than three turnovers a game during his college career, displaying an ability to take care of the basketball. He is relentless if nothing else, earning himself the nickname of “Young Bull.”
Weakness:
Collin Sexton averaged just three assists per game, which is low when compared to other elite draft-able point guards. Fellow lottery hopeful Trae Young averaged 8.7 assists per game. Even second round talents Jevon Carter, and Devonte Graham dished out more assists than Collin Sexton.
Sexton was not even close to sniffing top-20 in the country in that category, despite being top-20 in usage rate. Collin Sexton at 6’1 will struggle to play off-ball on offense, meaning he can not play alongside an established, or elite point guard.
At the combine:
The NBA Combine is a get together of all the best prospects, to see how they match up with each other. Sexton did not partake in the Shuttle run, Lane agility, Three quarter sprints, Standing vertical, nor Max vertical.
Collin Sexton also did not partake in the shooting drills at the combine. Lastly, he skipped out on the scrimmages in Chicago, and just used that time to meet with teams (Like the New York Knicks) and give them an exact measurement on him.
Awards and Honors:
- Alabama’s outstanding offensive player of the year, and co-outstanding freshman of the year
- John Wooden Award watch list
- SEC All-tournament team
- SEC Freshman of the year
- All-SEC Second team
- Participated in the McDonald’s High School All-American game
As the NBA Draft rapidly approaches that means it is time to slap on lofty comparisons that 19-plus year old kids who may-or-may not even scratch the surface of. For Sexton, the comparisons range anywhere from Eric Bledsoe to Patrick Beverly, According to the ringers Kevin O’Connor. Bleacher Report also compared Sexton’s game to Eric Bledsoe. NBA Draft Net followed suit comparing Collin Sexton to the Bucks point Guard.
As for my comparison, it is hard to go against the minds of those who live, breath, eat, drink, and sleep all things NBA Draft. It would appear as if Eric Bledsoe would be his natural pro-comparison. Bledsoe also stands 6’1 and has averaged 13-points-per-game during his 9-year career. Bledsoe was selected 18th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2010 draft, Sexton hopes to be off the board well before then.
Personally, Collin Sexton’s floor would be Raymond Felton, while his ceiling would be a 2017-18 Victor Oladipo. With a high enough usage rate, Sexton could be an All-Star and lead his team to the playoffs a few times.
Collin Sexton does not lack confidence in himself:
"I feel like [my game] is going to translate pretty good [to the @NBA] because the floor is going to be more open. There's going to be more room for me to operate and that's big." - Collin Sexton (Alabama) https://t.co/1iyW6RLSB9
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) May 18, 2018
Where Collin Sexton Ranks:
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Collin Sexton is consistently ranked at the back-end of the lottery.
USA Today: 9th
Sporting News: 11th
The Ringer: 11th.
Basketball insider: 12th.
Bleacher Report: 13th.
CBS Sports: 8th.
NBA: 2nd.
Is Collin Sexton a good fit in OKC?
The OKC Thunder have longed for a back-up point guard since the dawn of time, or at least 2008. Collin Sexton, a score first point guard, would be a great luxury off the Thunder bench. Sexton could spend his days learning from one of the best score-first point guards in the NBA, Russell Westbrook.
He would also allow OKC the flexibility to let Raymond Felton walk, helping the future and the current team. While Felton was a solid option to relieve Russ, he was inconsistent. Collin Sexton will have his ups-and-downs, but the difference there is potential. Felton is on the backend of his career, with nowhere to go but down.
So yes, Sexton would absolutely fit in OKC.
However, it is extremely unrealistic. There does not seem to be a scenario in which Collin Sexton will fall out of the lottery. The OKC Thunder do not have a pick until the second round, where they pick at both 53 and 57. Even packaging those two picks, would not be enough to get into the lottery.
Unless Sam Presti is willing to part with a key piece in Steven Adams, there will be no lottery pick in 2018 for the Thunder.
Next: NBA Draft prospect Mikal Bridges: A bridge to success
Even if Presti wanted to blow this whole thing up, ridding his team of a star, it wouldn’t and couldn’t be for a guy like Collin Sexton. He simply is not good enough to warrant trading a star–much less the team’s lone big-man.