Cleveland Cavaliers: Is Collin Sexton back in the Rookie of the Year race?

Collin Sexton has had an up-and-down season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but has his recent stretch placed him back into the Rookie of the Year race?

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have found a great young prospect in Collin Sexton. The 20-year-old out of Alabama has shown big strides this season and is looking better each night. We’ve seen quite a few rookies have phenomenal campaigns this year, but does Sexton deserve to be in the conversation for Rookie of the Year?

For the majority of the season, it appeared as if Luka Doncic was going to walk away unanimously with the award. Doncic quickly became an NBA phenom and blew expectations out of the water. His crafty offensive game made him a favorite to appear on highlight reels nearly every night.

Meanwhile, Trae Young has burst onto the scene as a player with explosive potential. His 49-point, 16-assist performance against the Chicago Bulls was just the peak of a 22-game stretch in which he averaged 23.5 points, 9.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds a night.

The rest of the 2018 NBA Draft class has been exceptional as well. Names such as Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Landry Shamet, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Allonzo Trier and many more have all enjoyed strong rookie seasons.

Among this gigantic crowd of young talent is Sexton. While critics have blasted him all season long for his inefficient playmaking and inconsistent shooting, he’s done a fantastic job ignoring the hate and focusing on improving his game.

A large reason for Sexton’s roller-coaster season is the team he’s playing on. The Cavaliers have been one of the worst teams in the league all year. Cleveland has struggled heavily this season and Sexton has suffered from the team’s poor performance.

The middle of the season proved to be a tough time for the rook. A 25-game stretch in which he averaged just 13.1 points per game on 35.8 percent shooting was the lowest point of his first NBA season.

Luckily, the Young Bull has pushed through his rookie slump and is playing better than ever. He recently commented that the game is slowing down to him and this is becoming obvious when watching him play.

Sexton is now scoring at a more efficient rate and is displaying a high IQ when attacking opponents. Pushing the tempo is one of his best talents, constantly keeping the defense on their heels with his relentless drive to the rim. Sexton’s speed in transition is helping him find easier points for him as well as his teammates.

Overall, he’s now averaging 15.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point range.

The last four games have also helped force his name back into relevance. Sexton has averaged 26.0 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds a game during this stretch while also shooting 54.9 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from the 3-point line and 92.9 percent from the free throw line.

Sexton had his best game of the season recently when he scored 28 points and dished five assists without turning the ball over in a huge victory over the Toronto Raptors. This night from Sexton helped prove that he is hungry to constantly improve his game.

Four games is a small sample size, and he hasn’t had a more complete season than Young or Doncic, but it would be a shame to leave Sexton out of the fringe of the Rookie of the Year conversation. He won’t win the award, but he is certainly one of the NBA’s brightest young stars and has worked to improve his game as his rookie year has progressed.