Sexton Makes a Leap in Second Jazz Season

Markkanen and Sexton are the Jazz’s two top scorers this season. (Trent Nelson, The Salt Lake Tribune)

The two key pieces from the 2023 Donovan Mitchell trade have both treated Jazz fans to resurgences. But while Lauri Markkanen’s leap to stardom came last season, Collin Sexton is making Jazz fans reimagine his ceiling as he posts perhaps his best all-around season yet. 

Markkanen blossomed in his first season under Will Hardy and with the Utah Jazz. Shooting 49.9% from the field and 39% from deep, he averaged nearly 26 points a game alongside 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He was selected an NBA All-Star (and eventually a replacement All-Star starter), then took home the Most Improved Player trophy at the end of a breakout season. 

An underlying reason for this success could be explained by how many games he was able to play. For the first time since his rookie season, Markkanen played more than 65 games. From the beginning, everyone saw his tantalizing scoring abilities with his height and athleticism. But, injuries seemed to slow him down and he could never enjoy long stretches of this ability without getting hurt or getting shut down. That all changed when he laced up in Utah, as he put together a complete season, truly for the first real time. 

Fans crossed their fingers that this was no joke and year two would be much of the same without a sophomore slump. His scoring dipped, to 23.1 this season, while his percentages were roughly the same at 48% from the field and 40% from deep. The rebounds and assists stayed the same, too. 

But his availability declined. As of now, Markkanen has played in 52 games after missing four games or more in November, December, and March. He returned from a six-game absence on Monday night, but with Utah out of the play-in and maybe gunning for a lottery pick, we’ll see how many of their final 14 games fea. 

Sexton is almost a carbon copy of Markkanen’s story, only flip-flopped. His first year in Utah had more ups and downs, and he battled both injuries and an inconsistent role. After year one, Sexton started 15 of 48 games played, averaging 14 points, three assists, and two rebounds a game with 55% shooting from the field and 39% from deep (on 2.5 attempts a game). 

Mike Conley Jr. was the Jazz’s starting point guard for half of Sexton’s first season in Utah, and the latter was injured for much of December and January. He juggled his place in the rotation before effectively being shut down for the season in late February as the Jazz wanted to protect against a second knee injury at all costs. When the Jazz traded Mitchell, fans wondered aloud if Sexton was the primary prize, but a year later, Markkanen was an All-Star and some wondered if Sexton was a long-term fit. 

Now in his second run, Sexton has established himself as a legit starter at the guard position: 43 starts in 68 games played. He’s already played his most games in a season since his rookie year after injuries and constant turnover altered the start of his career. 

While Markkanen is the franchise cornerstone, Sexton should be viewed as a piece of the future, too. Perhaps not as untradeable, but his value needs to be stressed, especially in his year two when Markkanen was slightly down and more out. Sexton has upped his points per game to 18, his assists to five, and has taken more threes (4.5 a game) with an uptick in that percentage at 40%. While he may never be an All-Star or an All-NBA in a league that is dominated by talented point guards, Sexton can be placed next to the best and hit top-10 status at his peak. 

Markkanen has a history of many stretches where he is the best player on the floor, sometimes by a large margin. When he gets flowing in the offense — shooting from deep or putting the ball on the floor to move to the hoop — he is lava that can’t be stopped. For stretches this year, Sexton has been the best player on the court, too. You can see it in his eyes which then shows intensity in his effort and hustle on defense or attacking the hoop on offense. Those eyes have been flashing a lot this season. 

During the recent 123-107 loss to Boston, the Jazz surged in the third quarter to make it a two-point ball game. Sexton was part of that punch, adding seven points, two assists, and a block in minutes of the sparked intensity he’s known for. On the other side, Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday was his normal, steady self, highlighted by back-to-back threes that put Boston back up by 20 with six minutes left. Sexton would finish with 20 points, a block, five assists, seven rebounds, and a three while Holiday racked up 16 points, a block, two steals, eight assists, five rebounds, and two made threes. They’ve played each other eight times now, with each ending the same way in a victory for Holiday. 

Watching them, I couldn’t help but wonder if Holiday was a fair comparison. Sexton is an inch shorter and a good chunk lighter, but the body type and skill shot are close similarities. If a casual fan were to think of Holiday, they’d probably peg him as an elite defender, pesky and relentless, a winner, a guy who plays team-ball and a guy who can get to the hoop and shoot a triple. Could those be attributes Sexton aspires for? 

While Holiday will always be the better defender, Sexton does have tools and talent to make his mark as a pest when he so chooses. When he picks a player full-court or switches with purpose, he can use his athleticism to disrupt lanes and flow while grabbing steals. Earlier this season, Sexton picked up a career high six steals against the Hawks, one short of Holiday’s career high from 2010. 

Offensively, Sexton is the better shooter (career 47% to 46% from the field; career 38% to 37% from three) while getting to the foul line more often and putting up more shots a game, too. But primetime Holiday knew how to score, sneaking in for buckets at the rim, a consistent mid-range, and consistently hit open threes. I found it interesting that comparing each player at age 25 (Sexton’s current age), these offense numbers are really closely aligned according to RealGM.com. As if it matters, check out their team success and winning percentage, too. 

Holiday made an All-Star team twice in his career, in 2013 and 2023. The first was as a young stud on a mediocre group, the second as a really key member of a really good team. That reputation has served him well in his last decade of basketball, winning a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 as their leader and starting point guard. If that is a Sexton’s ceiling, key contributor to a title-worthy squad, Jazz fans will take it.

The Jazz don’t necessarily have a countdown timer to when they need to win big again. There isn’t pressure from multiple playoff exits that scream the need to blow it up. The team is in a rebuild where multiple years of contending is the goal.  But, I would like add a little bit of pressure for Markkanen and Sexton to both hit their peak in the same amount of games played, preferably doing so next year. Year three after a significant trade? Yeah, that feels right for the time to click. While they’ll never be Stockton-to-Malone, a connection should exist between the two stars. That idea is one that makes me excited as a Jazz fan, envisioning the winning ways and the fun to be had when they both play their best ball at the same time together.

Let’s make that the next phase of Jazz basketball.