Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Jazz coach Will Hardy heard the skepticism surrounding Collin Sexton. After all, just about everyone had.
Before Sexton arrived in a trade from the Cavaliers, one Cleveland-based writer said he was "a 6-foot combo guard with sloppy handles, narrow court vision, and a liability defensively."
There weren't a lot of arguments to the contrary, either.
Sexton was cast as a budding superstar with the Cavs but hadn't lived up to the billing. He was a scorer, to be sure — he averaged 24.4 points in his final healthy season in Cleveland — but hadn't shown much else. Most concerning was that even as his scoring stats rose, wins didn't follow.
Cleveland won 19 games his rookie year, 19 games his second season, and 22 games his third. The Cavs made a big jump during his fourth season in the league, but he watched that rise mostly from the bench with a torn meniscus. That seemed to only further cement his reputation as a score-first, non-winning player.
Was it true? Maybe, maybe not. But the run that Sexton is currently on — 22.4 points on 52% shooting and 4.9 assists in his last 20 games — can be partially traced back to Hardy forgetting about all the years-old narratives surrounding Sexton
"When he was first traded here, (he was seen) as somebody who scored a lot in Cleveland but wasn't on winning teams, only thought about scoring, blah blah blah, whatever it is, and I think that probably seeped into my head a little bit last year," 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."
Due to that experience alone, Hardy said Sexton has had "way more of an impact on me than he would think."
This last offseason, Hardy looked himself in the mirror. Instead of worrying about what the outside world thought of the energetic and ever-passionate Sexton, he thought about his own experiences with him during his first year in Utah.
And there was a lot to like.
"He's always done everything that I've asked," Hardy said. "He's never complained. He has never come to my office and asked for more playing time. He's never asked for more shots. He's never questioned what we were doing. He just continues to work every day. He takes coaching and he lets me coach him very hard."
Hardy quickly forged a new perception of Sexton. He wasn't a me-first player — far from it. He was a player who would literally (and, yes, we do use that in the actual literal sense) do anything he could to be a part of a winning team. Extra film? Sign him up. Sprints? After practice? Why not. Extra shots on off days? Of course. It's hard to keep Sexton out of the gym. You'd be hard-pressed to find an NBA player who wants to be good as much as Sexton does.
"This offseason for me was about kind of resetting myself as it relates to Collin and trying to just put him in the best possible situation to succeed," Hardy said.
Hardy has found that.
Since Sexton entered the starting lineup 20 games ago he has been one of the best guards in the NBA. And, more importantly, the Jazz have been one of the league's best teams. The Jazz's 15-5 record since Sexton entered the starting lineup is the third-best mark in the NBA.
In those starts, Sexton is averaging 29.5 points per 36 minutes — the sixth-best mark in the league. The only guards that have been better are Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell. Those are bonafide All-Stars at worst, and legitimate MVP candidates at best. Not bad company.
"I feel like it's kind of coming together for him," said Lauri Markkanen. "I'm happy for him. The work he's been putting in in the film room and on the court every day … so it's not a surprise."
As for his relationship with his coach, Sexton said Hardy has been just what he needed to take the next step.
"I talked to him yesterday, we had an off day, and he just told me he was going to continue to coach me hard, continue to push me to the best of my abilities," Sexton said. "That's the way I want to be coached. ... I feel like that's how I'm able to get the best out of myself. At the end of the day, I don't expect anyone to give me anything. I feel like I have to earn it and sometimes even take it. That's how I've always been wired."
Hardy's just glad it's been a mutually beneficial relationship.
"He's bought into what we're trying to do and he's gotten better," Hardy said. "He's somebody that has shown me that you don't need to listen to any of (the narratives) at all. You can just take people at face value for how they are when they get here and what they do when they're with our team. He's a big reason why we're playing well right now. His energy is infectious on both ends of the floor. He's a heck of a player and we're lucky to have him."
