Preliminary Sixers profile: Isaiah Collier is a rugged, talented lead guard prospect originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
A scouting report on NBA draft prospect Isaiah Collier:
Forces
Collier’s strength is exceptional for a 19-year-old point guard, and he uses that standout tool to amplify many of his other talents.
Collier can avoid contact, score in traffic in the paint and find fruitful angles in the pick-and-roll even when he doesn’t gain an early lead.
Collier averaged an impressive 5.8 free throw attempts. Immediately after returning from a midseason right hand injury, he made 31 foul shots over the next two games.
In his only collegiate season, Collier recorded 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest. His assist numbers would have been higher on a better team than the 15-18 Trojans. Collier showed he can read the short man in the pick-and-roll, identify open cutters and throw a variety of high-level passes.
Weaknesses
Like many young ballhandlers, Collier is refining his decision-making and his sense of what risks are worth taking. He committed at least four turnovers in each of his first six college games. To his credit, Collier’s assist-to-turnover statistics improved significantly after he returned from injury; he has averaged 4.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers in USC’s last 11 games.
Collier’s shooting mechanics don’t feel especially consistent. He shot 67.3 percent from the foul line and 33.8 percent from three-point range (on 3.0 attempts per game). He’ll need to earn the respect of defenses as a shooter in the NBA and prove he’s not a player you can space or guard with a deep drop in pick-and-roll coverage.
Although he managed 2.0 steals per 40 minutes and recorded some highlights on defense, Collier was widely criticized for his defensive performances. And when he gets behind drivers or gets caught on screens, he doesn’t have much length (6-4.75 wingspan) to help you recover.
Adjust
Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey chose a former five-star recruit and Freshman guard who surprisingly fell in the 2020 draft.
In that sense, Collier would be a similar type of selection to Tyrese Maxey. Collier probably wouldn’t be expected to step in and fill a crucial role on a contender right away. Still, if a player of Collier’s considerable talent falls to No. 16, perhaps the Sixers could pick him up.
