You may not like him or his game, but Sexton has shown
at least a "glimpse" of what is often considered a star power in the NBA.
He's only the third player in franchise history to average 20 ppg before the age of 22 -- the others were LBJ and KI. He's fourth in the entire NBA in points per game among players 21 or under, behind Trae Young, Luke Doncic, and Zion Williamson. In a March 2020 game against a very good Boston Celtics team, Collin went off for 41 points, shooting 57.6% from the field, and handing out 6 assists. Again...only Cav other than LBJ or KI to hit 40 points in a game before the age of 22. And he improved in 22 different statistical categories from the year before.
It’s been more than two years and the Cavs feel the same about Sexton as they did on June 9, 2018. Maybe even better.
www.cleveland.com
Point is, probably the single most common metric for "star power" in the NBA is scoring, and Sexton has inarguably been elite at that for his age. Now maybe you think KPJ ultimately will be the better player, and that's fine. But when you set the bar as low as just showing "any glimpse whatsoever of star power", it's pretty tough to exclude Sexton given the company he's in at his age when it comes to scoring.
ETA: Probably worth noting that he was the second leading scorer on the USA team in the "Rising Stars" game this past March, and was tied for the highest +/-.
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