Jazz rookie guard Isaiah Collier recently surpassed Hall of Fame former Utah guard John Stockton‘s longstanding rookie-season assists record for the franchise of 415, writes Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Stockton had held the record for 40 years.
Selected with the No. 29 overall pick out of USC, Collier has carved out a solid bench role for himself on the rebuilding Jazz. Across 70 contests, including 45 starts, the 6’3″ pro is averaging 8.5 points, 6.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in 25.8 minutes per game. Stockton averaged just 18 MPG during his first pro season, Larsen notes.
Collier has now recorded 434 assists as a rookie. The rookie-season assists record is 868 dimes, courtesy of then-New York guard Mark Jackson. The 16-62 Jazz have four games left on their 2024/25 regular season slate for Collier to keep adding to his franchise-record sum.
Larsen observes that Collier may finish among the top 40 rookies in first-year assists when all is said and done, a promising indicator of his potential long-term upside.
Stockton still leads the NBA, by a significant margin, with 15,806 career regular season assists. His 10.5 APG represents the second-highest average rate of dimes per game, behind only Los Angeles Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson‘s 11.2 APG.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- During the second quarter of Friday’s 140-112 loss to Indiana, second-year Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks spoke on the broadcast about the broken leg that’s forced him to miss all but three games, Larsen writes in another piece (subscriber link). Hendricks said he has been able to jog a bit and has been partaking in his teammates’ pregame shootarounds, adding that he expects to be fully recovered by May — long after Utah’s 2024/25 season will be over. He also revealed that he has gained 33 pounds since being listed at a weight of 210 as a rookie. Larsen confirms that Hendricks appears to have put on quite a bit of muscle, but notes that the forward hopes to eventually play at around 230-235 pounds.
- At 47-31 on the year, the Nuggets currently occupy the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed. But the 2023 champs are just one game better than the Nos. 6-8 seeds in the conference, with four games remaining on their schedule. Denver is looking to strike a balance between resting its ailing stars ahead of the postseason and securing a favorable playoff position, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscriber link).
- In case you missed it, second-year Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett has been thriving with an extended role in Denver of late.
Collier is also 3yrs younger than Stockton was as a rookie & is playing with far less talent. Stockton had numerous great scorers to pass to, including arguably the best scorer in the league at the time… link to m.youtube.com
Yes, but defenses now are much worse than in the 80’s.
Stockton also was averaging 7.8 fewer minutes as a bench player. That means he likely spent more time playing with other bench players.
Karl Malone didn’t join the team until Stockton’s second year.
Collier has been really impressive with his passing. He’s just not on the same level as Stockton. Only a few come even remotely close.
Defense (like offense) is much better nowadays than the 80s or any other era.
Stockton averaged less mins, true. But it’s also true he was 3yrs older & playing with much better players.
Stockton played with Adrian Dantley as a rookie. AD was arguably the best scorer in the league at that time.
Collier has been really impressive we finally agree. But as a rookie he clearly is very much on the same level as Stockton. He’s even surpassed him in some areas. If we’re talking 20yr Collier vs 20yo Stockton then you’re right it’s not close. If Collier continues to improve like Stockton did (& crucially if he’s lucky enough to get a teammate like Mailman) then we might be talking about him as an all-time great one day as well.
No it’s not. Defense isn’t allowed in today’s NBA. They were allowed much more physical contact in the 80’s.
He is 3 years older, but didn’t start for 3 years. Collier has started half the year already.
AD is definitely better, etc. But like I said, Stockton was playing with the BENCH players. Can’t compare the starters cuz that’s not who he played with.
And no, he’s not on Stockton’s level. He doesn’t have the same level of anticipation as Stockton. He doesn’t have the precision long passes that Stockton had. He does more lobs.
As for his future, his shooting will hold him back from any real accolades. He’s already one of the best passers in the league he just needs to greatly improve his outside game and then he could be the starter for a long time.
It’s obv ridiculous to say defense isn’t allowed in today’s NBA. It’s also ridiculous to conflate more fouling & harder fouls with better defense. Guys have to be more versatile defensively nowadays, they have to be smarter & make quicker decisions, they have to guard more skilled players across a larger area of space. It’s extremely obvious that the game is just much better overall in pretty much every way no matter what your nostalgia tells you.
Collier starting & producing in the NBA at age 20 while Stockton wasn’t even close to being ready to start in the NBA at the same age is clearly a positive for Collier lol.
Bro what are you talking about lol you think Stockton never played with the starters when he was a rookie? We don’t do shifts like in hockey my boy. He played with AD & Thurl plenty but of course you didn’t even know who Adrian Dantley was until a few minutes ago so I’ll give you slack.
Again, yes he very much is on Stockton’s level at the same stage of development. Let’s remember this kid was almost unanimously seen as the best player in the country at his age level just a yr ago. He’s still arguably the best American player at his age level. Tbh it feels weird & wrong to see you trying to compare these 2 guys not only bc of the obvious bias but bc of the obv ignorance. There’s zero chance you ever seen any of Stockton as a rookie & you’ve prob seen very little of Collier.
You’re misinformed. Stockton was ready but he was playing behind the all-star Ricky Green (1984, same year they drafted Stockton) for the first three seasons of his career.
Stockton overtook him in 1987. Green was chosen by the Hornets in the expansion draft of 1988.
Also, in 17 mpg you’re not going to get a lot of playtime with the starters. Sorry to burst your narrative.
And bro just stop. I’ve been watching the Jazz since the early 80’s. Collier isn’t Stockton’s level.
Lol misinformed about what? I said Stockton wasn’t ready to start in the NBA at age 20 and he very clearly wasn’t ready at that age. He had barely played at Gonzaga as a freshman. When he was Collier’s age he was busy putting up 5ast/gm & 3to/gm & leading the Zags to a 7-7 record in the WCAC. Rickey Green has literally nothing to do with Stockton as a 20yo. Please keep up smh.
Lol it truly shows your level of basketball knowledge when you keep saying things like bench players never play with the starters lol. My 9yr old nephew knows how ridiculous that is lol. If you were to go back and look at any tape of Stockton as a rookie you’ll see him playing with starters plenty. Maybe not so much with Green since they played the same position but he clearly played a lot with Dantley, Griffith & Thurl. This is basic stuff.
Lol my boy you obviously haven’t been watching the Jazz since the early 80s. Truly who are you trying to fool here? Lol bro I just had to explain to you who Adrian Dantley was. That’s like me calling myself a huge Beatles fan but not knowing who Paul McCartney is.
And no defense is not better. The NBA rules give them so much more space, especially on the 3-point line and around the rim. It’s why viewership is way down year after year. The game is too easy to score for everybody, even scrubs.
Speaking of viewership being down, please do us all a favor and follow a different sport. Basketball isn’t for you and that fact could not be clearer. Like fr what are you even talking about lol? NBA rules give defenses more space around the rim and the 3pt line? What does that mean??? You say it’s to easy for anyone to score in the NBA lol bro you know little to nothing about basketball.
Remember, it took 40 years for a rookie to surpass what Stockton did in 17 mpg. It took a starter to do it, too. You seem to be ignoring this fact.
How am I ignoring that it took 40yrs for his record to be broken? I fully agree that it was an impressive record. Where we differ is that I feel Collier deserves credit for breaking it. The article pointed out that Stockton did it with less mins/gm. Article doesn’t point out that Collier is doing it at a much younger age & playing with much worse teammates. Those things obviously matter and make Collier’s achievement even more impressive. The fact that he did it in like 10 fewer games is also impressive. Him coming home and putting up 17pts 12asts last night, also impressive. The fact that he’s starting in the NBA at all at age 20 is also impressive, it’s something Stockton himself wasn’t capable of. Stockton is clearly a legend. It’s very possible for someone to be as good as rookie Stockton. You don’t need to feel threatened by that.
To be clear, I really like Collier. I think he’s already really good. He is a tough player and has been pretty solid so far. He has a great start to his career.
It’s also natural to compare him to guys like Stockton. The Media and fans have tried for years. However, that’s completely unfair to these young guys.
Just appreciate what he is and don’t go crazy with these unrealistic comparisons.
You just said it’s natural to compare him to Stockton then immediately contradicted that & said it’s an unrealistic comparison. The article is literally about Collier surpassing Stockton’s rookie record. Obviously it’s natural to compare them. In what way is that unfair to Isaiah Collier?
I meant it’s natural for other people. Just because he passes the ball well. Plus, he’s solid with steals, and tough. However, that’s where the comparison ends.
Stockton averaged 52+% FG% for his entire career! Collier just isn’t that kind of player. That’s why it’s silly to compare to him to Stockton.
Stockton was a terrible shooter as a rookie. He shot like 17% from 3 until he was in his mid-20’s. At this stage in their development (the only true way to compare them & the only way I’ve been comparing them this whole time) they’re similar shooters, similar passers, similar toughness similar defenders, play the same position for the same franchise. Yet you say there’s no comparison lol
It’s unfair to compare them because Stockton was playing behind Ricky Green for his first 3 years. Yet, in 50% less time he produced just a little less than a guy starting and playing with starters.
It’s also unfair because it’s such a lofty comparison that’s not realistic. They’re completely different play styles. I’d instead compare Collier to someone like Baron Davis or Westbrook.
Even then that’s setting Collier up for failure. Just let him develop first before comparing him.
50% less time? That’s obviously terrible math smh. And according to your logic who could we ever compare Stockton to? Only guys that came off the bench for 3yrs then went on to have HOF careers can be compared to him?
LMAO wait a minute…. Stockton is an unfair comp for Collier bc it’s to lofty but Russ Westbrook is ok? Lol you are funny bro.
And now you say that he has to develop further before he gets compared to anyone lol. Is this true for every young player? Should we not compare any young player to any other players? Your logic is just awful fr.
Stockton has to be upset over this…
Lol. I really doubt it.
The guy was a competitor. Those kind of people hate losing. Hate it. It’s why they’re so successful. But all that energy has to go somewhere and often the family is the one who pays the price…
That’s true. Stockton did hate to lose. In fact, he would take over games when the team was shooting poorly. That rarely was needed so that’s why he didn’t score as much as say Iverson and Thomas.
Underwhelming rookies this year wonder if he earns himself a spot on the all rookie first team, surely a lock for the second minimum.
Castle, Risacher, Wells, Sarr, Ware, Missi, Collier, Edey, Filipowski make 9 players
Holland, Carrington, Knetch, Buzelis, George and Bona fighting for the last spot
Definitely. He’s been in the top 10 rookie list for months now. I’d say he’s a lock for either.