The Charlotte Hornets started off their week by trading Jusuf Nurkic to the Utah Jazz for Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick.
With rumors regarding their desire for an experienced backup ball-handler, their acquisition of Sexton could be connected to that. However, it should be noted that Sexton is essentially a career starter. The only season where most of his games came off the bench was 2022-23, in which he was trying to find his footing with a new team after suffering a season-ending meniscus tear in 2021-22. This reality and the success that the 26-year-old has had in that role beg the question of whether he’ll actually come off the bench in Charlotte or if they have another plan for him.
3 Reasons Hornets Should Start Collin Sexton
There are at least three reasons why Sexton should start for the Hornets next season.
Hornets Heater
In 2024-25, the Hornets were dead last in points per game (105.1) and ranked 29th in offensive rating (107.3). The prior season, they ranked 28th in points per game (106.6) and offensive rating (109.3). The season before that, they ranked 27th in points per game (111.o) and 30th in offensive rating (109.2). With that being said, there’s a clear need to increase their firepower.
Enter Sexton, a dynamic and aggressive three-level scorer who can play on and off ball. As a starter, the former eighth overall pick has averaged 20.0 points per game. What’s even better about Sexton’s impact on the scoreboard is that he does it efficiently, shooting 47.0 percent from 3 and 39.2 percent from 3. For many players, this is enough to be hovering around star status.
For comparison’s sake, Josh Green only averaged 7.4 points per game as the Hornets starting shooting guard last season. He’s a very respectable 3-and-D wing. Nevertheless, he isn’t going to thaw out the offense like Sexton.
Proven Improvement
Sexton wouldn’t be the first hybrid guard that LaMelo Ball has played alongside.
In fact, the Hornets were at their best when Ball was playing alongside Terry Rozier. That may be difficult to believe with how he’s looked since being traded to the Miami Heat. Nevertheless, Ball and Rozier were 73-90 as a duo, a win percentage of .448. For context, Ball is 98-133 with the Hornets all-time, a win percentage of .424. Thus, he’s 25-43 without Rozier, a win percentage of .368.
With that in mind, Rozier averaged 20.0 points and 4.7 assists per game with the Hornets with a 24.9 percent usage rate. As a starter, Sexton has averaged 20.0 points and 3.9 assists per game with a 27.4 percent usage rate. Numbers aside, having an additional ball-handler and scorer alongside Ball and Brandon Miller will take pressure off of both young cornerstones, all while making Charlotte more difficult to guard.
Opponents will put their second- or third-best perimeter defender on Sexton, and they’ll have a long day.
Charles Lee
Prior to being hired as the Hornets head coach, Charles Lee was an assistant coach for three playoff teams: the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
One trait that they all had was that they started two ball-handling guards.
In Atlanta, the combination was Jeff Teague or Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore. In Milwaukee, the duo of Jrue Holiday and Donte DiVincenzo went on to win a championship in 2021. Then, in Boston, it was the title-winning tag team of Holiday and Derrick White.
Given his previous experience and the success he’s seen with that strategy, it stands to reason that Lee could employ it in Charlotte. To be frank, Ball and Sexton are arguably the most talented pair he’ll have coached yet.
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