Collin Darnell Sexton is an American professional basketball member for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide team. In January 2017, Sexton was chosen for the McDonald’s All-American. He was elected 8th in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers.
Early life
Colleen has an older brother, Jordan, and an older sister, Juana. He began playing basketball when he was three years old. Collin first attended Hillgrove High School in Gunpowder Springs, Georgia before transferring to Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, Georgia before his junior year and helped the Falcons in 2016 in Georgia Region 3-6A title and Georgia Grade 6A State Championship Games 2016; averaging 23 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. Recruiting Sexton received five stars and was voted one of the Best Recruiting Players of 2017 by Scout.com, Rivals.com, and ESPN. Sexton finished 7th among recruits and 2nd point guard in the 2017 high school class. On November 10, 2016, Sexton moved to Alabama Crimson Tide the very day he signed the Letter of Intent (LOI).
College Career
Colleen Sexton attended the University of Alabama playing as coach Avery Johnson. On November 25, 2017, he scored 40 points playing short-handed (3v5) for most of the second half, losing to the University of Minnesota. In the first match of the SEC tournament, Colleen Sexton scored 27 points against Texas A&M, including the winner in the buzzer-beater game, then 31 points in the quarter-final win over # 1 Seed Auburn and 21 points against Kentucky in the semi-final loss. Colleen Sexton made the All-Tournament squad after averaging 26.3 points in 3 games and 5 rebounds in 3 games. Following Alabama’s defeat in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Sexton announced his intention to ditch his last three seasons of collegiate law and make a name for himself in the 2018 NBA Draft, where he was set to qualify in the first round.
Professional career
On June 21, 2018, Sexton was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Draft. He has been the most popular Alabama player since Antonio McDice in 1995. On July 6, 2018, Sexton caused his NBA Summer League debut. He scored 15 points and made 7 rebounds. On October 17, 2018, Sexton got his NBA debut, coming off the bench for the Cleveland Cavaliers with nine points and three rebounds after a 104-116 defeat to the Toronto Raptors. On November 24, 2018, Sexton scored 29 points against the Houston Rockets with 117-108 wins. On December 9, 2018, he scored a season-record of 29 points against the Washington Wizards with a 116-101 win. On March 8, 2019, Sexton beat Kyrie Irving for 3-pointers made by the Cavs rookie with 76 points against the Miami Heat. He also eclipsed 1,000 career points. On March 11, 2019, Sexton had 28 points versus the Toronto Raptors in a 126-101 win, as well as 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Sexton had the greatest week of his rookie campaign in the week of March 8, 2019, averaging 26.0 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. Between March 8-22, he became the first rookie to score over 23 points in seven straight games since Tim Duncan in 1998, and the only rookie in franchise history to score at least 23 points in a row. Besides, he is the only newcomer in NBA history to play at least 2,000 minutes, averaging over 16 points per game with over 40% 3-point accuracy and less than 3 assists. He was nominated to play the Rising Stars at the 2020 NBA All-Star as a replacement for injured Miami Heat rookie Tyler Herro, where he averaged 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists for the US national team. On January 20, 2021, Sexton set a new career record of 42 points with a double-overtime win 147-135 over the Brooklyn Nets.
