{"id":191176,"date":"2025-10-05T10:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T10:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/191176\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T10:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T10:44:07","slug":"hornets-coach-on-collin-sexton-ive-loved-the-impact-that-hes-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/191176\/","title":{"rendered":"Hornets coach on Collin Sexton: \u2018I’ve loved the impact that he’s had\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Collin Sexton<\/a> will turn 27 years old on Jan. 4. But as the former Alabama<\/a> guard prepares for his eighth NBA season, just three players on the Charlotte Hornets\u2019 training-camp roster have been in the league longer than he has.<\/p>\n

The Hornets obtained Sexton<\/a> in a trade with the Utah Jazz in July.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been, like, unbelievable since he\u2019s gotten here,\u201d Charlotte coach Charles Lee said<\/a> last week. \u201cThe transition\u2019s been seamless. We\u2019re all about daily improvement, and Collin is about daily improvement as well. And so, like, it\u2019s like a perfect marriage. He comes in every day hungry, curious, excited to work. He just absolutely loves this game, and I can tell he loves his teammates, too. He\u2019s come in and he\u2019s already bonded with a bunch of the guys, and he\u2019s earned their respect from Jump Street. I think that it\u2019s because of how consistent he is with his routines and habits. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then it\u2019s also his consistent competitiveness. Like it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a shooting drill. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a pickup game. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s who can say the first thing that comes to their mind. Whatever it is, like, he\u2019s competing, and I think that the guys just recognize that. They love that about him. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so he brings this dog to our group that they\u2019ve really embraced. And so I\u2019ve loved the impact that he\u2019s had, I think, just on our whole culture and on our team as well so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his third season with the Jazz, Sexton averaged 18.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 63 games, including 61 starts. Sexton\u2019s 1,159 points led Utah in the 2024-25 season even though he missed 19 games.<\/p>\n

In seven seasons since entering the NBA from Alabama as the eighth pick in the 2018 draft, Sexton has averaged 18.8 points in 407 regular-season games, the highest for a Crimson Tide alumnus in league history.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that I bring to this lineup will be my competitive nature each and every day,\u201d Sexton said<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m ready to compete and be a consistent competitor. I feel like it\u2019s going to continue to rub off on the other guys. My energy as well on both ends of the court, whether it\u2019s getting a shot for myself or creating a shot for my teammate, I\u2019m going to have that juice and that energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hornets\u2019 nine-year playoff drought is the NBA\u2019s longest. After winning only 19 games last season, Charlotte is counting on keeping LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann and Brandon Miller<\/a> on the court this season after injuries wrecked their 2024-25 campaigns. The Hornets also added veterans Mason Plumlee, Pat Connaughton and Spencer Dinwiddie and draft picks Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner.<\/p>\n

RELATED: HEALTHY AGAIN, HORNETS\u2019 BRANDON MILLER \u2018CAN BE A HALL OF FAMER\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlotte could put a guard-heavy lineup on the court with Ball, Mann, Sexton, Connaughton and Dinwiddie available and Miller and Knueppel able to swing into the backcourt, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be one person that takes us to the promised land,\u201d Sexton said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a group effort, and we have to do it together. And we\u2019ve realized that early on that if we want to go far, if we want to do something this season, we have to do it together. We need each and every person to have some type of role and play their role to the best of their ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hornets tip off their five-game preseason schedule against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 4 p.m. CDT Sunday at North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to win some games,\u201d Sexton said<\/a> about his expectations for the 2025-26 season, \u201cand we\u2019re going to do it together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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