'A ball of energy': Why Sexton fought to get back on the court — even for just a week

SALT LAKE CITY — Collin Sexton tried to get his argument out.

It was overtime against the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz point guard was playing in his first game back in nearly two months. Minutes restriction be damned, he wanted to get out on the court.

So he tried to appeal to Will Hardy — and his head coach immediately turned his back.

"He got like one word out in that sentence," Hardy said.

Added Sexton: "Yeah, he gave me one word. I was like, all right, but I definitely was ready and prepared if he did call my name."

He'd been ready and prepared for some time — at least mentally; he just needed to let his body catch up. Sexton returned on Tuesday after missing 18 games with a left hamstring strain, and his excitement was palpable.

Hardy had to remind him on Tuesday morning to slow down a bit, because it was just a shootaround. Sexton tried to lay down for his customary game day nap, but quickly realized that wasn't happening. And when he got out on the court late in the first quarter, he looked like he had been shot out of a canon.

"He's the same Collin I remember; he is a ball of energy, he's unscoutable — doesn't have a ton of tendencies," Hardy said. "It feels like he is just all competitiveness, gives our team such a lift, just energy wise — like it is infectious, contagious, however you want to describe it. The guys love how he plays."

That energy was on full display against the Lakers. He made quick drives, pushed up on opposing guards on defense, and screamed at himself all along the way. Those screams, he said, are a way of motivating himself; it's something he picked up on when he was younger and cleaned buildings with his family late at night. He would talk to himself loudly to find an extra gear.

"I had to encourage my brother and encourage myself. ... 'All right, we're tired, but we got to push through, got to do our job and do our portion,'" Sexton said. "So that's where the encouragement came from, because at like midnight and 1 a.m., I'm like, 'I want to be asleep, but I know I gotta do what I have to do for the family.'"

Now, he's doing what he has to do for his team, and he was finally back at it on the court on Tuesday. Sexton scored 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and added three assists, too.

"He only got 14 shots and 15 minutes so ... I guess he's feeling OK," Hardy said sarcastically.

Or maybe better than OK.

"Right now, I feel great," Sexton said. "I feel great."

He felt like he had been training for a marathon over the last few weeks, he said, so he never felt winded or any pain in his hamstring. That's all good news for a player who fought to come back, even if it was for just four games.

"Collin wanted to play," Hardy said. "He would have played a week ago if we would have let him; his body just wasn't ready."

Sexton missed most of last season due to surgery on a torn meniscus, which was torture for him, he said. So he didn't care if it was one game or even one quarter; once he was cleared, he was going to go out there again.

"It's important to me just because I carry myself different," he said. "I want to lead by example. I feel like I put the time and work in. I feel good, and if they give me the OK, I'm gonna play."

So he played, and he's hoping to never have to stop again.

"My goal next year is to play all 82," he said.

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