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2018 Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: Who is Collin Sexton?

By Philip Rossman-Reich

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 17: Collin Sexton #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide shoots the ball against Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 17: Collin Sexton #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide shoots the ball against Mikal Bridges #25 of the Villanova Wildcats in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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The Bad

Orlando Magic fans feel a bit jilted at point guard right now. There is undoubtedly a need there and there was scarring from the guy that was there before. Magic fans do not want to see another Elfrid Payton — a guy with the defensive build and speed, but no shooting and other liabilities.

That is more than fair. Payton failed to live up to expectations in Orlando. In any way. And his poor 3-point shot ultimately proved to be too much of a liability.

Sexton is a better shooter than Payton. There is no getting around that. He is not the same player that Payton is. Teams have to respect his 3-point shot and not merely ignore him. And Sexton’s 77.8 percent free throw percentage suggests he could improve as a 3-point shooter (Payton was a much worse free throw shooter coming out of college).

But Sexton is not an effective 3-point shooter. At least he was not last year, finishing shooting 33.6 percent. Maybe he did not get a lot of spot-up opportunities and was shooting off the dribble, but shooting is not his forte.

He can get hot and make shots in bunches. And he can set himself up for shots. But his form is a bit inconsistent. Sexton can hit a rhythm but he can also go a long time without making any shots.

Sexton has great end-to-end speed. He can hit the turbos and get to the basket. But in the half court and playing from more of a standstill, he can struggle. Sexton is not going to break down too many players off the dribble without a pick. Nor can you rely on him to set up his own shot that way either.

As impressive as Sexton could be, there is a reason he dropped among draft boards. After his hot start to the season, he kind of evened out through conference play.

In SEC play, Sexton averaged 16.8 points per game, but he shot just 39.9 percent from the floor. He hit on less than 30 percent of his 3-pointers too.

Through all of this, Sexton does not put up overly impressive assist numbers. He is a scorer first, it appears. But not much of a passer. He averaged just 3.6 assists per game for the entire year.

So if his shot is not going down and his scoring is neutralized, what else will he provide?

The engine is there. Sexton can inevitably get better. But there are certainly flaws that are hard to overlook. Especially in a modern NBA that increasingly values other skills. Skills that Sexton has had a hard time nailing down consistently.