Isaiah Collier 2024 NBA Draft Profile
We are nearly two weeks away from the 2024 NBA Draft, which tips off on June 26. To continue our draft profile series, today we will be looking at USC guard Isaiah Collier, whose stock tanked after suffering a midseason hand injury. Without further ado, let’s dive into it!
Height: 6’2.50″ (6’4.75″ wingspan, 8’1.50″ standing reach)
Weight: 204.6
Draft age: 19.7
Position: Guard
Collier was the No. 2-ranked player in the country in the 2023 recruiting cycle, ranked only behind Ron Holland, who went the pro route by signing with G-League Ignite, according to 247Sports. Collier, a five-star recruit from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., was named a McDonald’s All-American and earned the Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year, the Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year and Max Preps Player of the Year. He ultimately chose USC over a litany of high-profile offers, including North Carolina, UCLA, Auburn and Alabama, among others.
The highly-touted freshman was once regarded as a potential top pick in the 2024 cycle, though a midseason hand injury caused him to miss a month of conference action. He came back and didn’t miss a beat, averaging 17.6 points, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals on 55.3 percent true shooting over his final 11 games after his return, though his health still dropped him down draft boards.
Let’s take a look at a few of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?
Strengths:
For whatever he lacks in height (he’s not particularly small), Collier more than makes up for it with his stocky frame … and he uses every bit of it to his advantage.
Generating paint touches is the most fashionable form of offense, and Collier was among the best in the class at doing just that. Collier has a quick first step and didn’t have too much of an issue finishing against bigger defenders around the rim, where he attempted half of his attempts and converted at a 63.1 percent clip.
He leveraged his strong frame to create separation and dislodge shot-blockers and on-ball defenders when he was slashing. He uses both hands to drive to the rim and finish–making him more unpredictable.
Collier was also electric in transition. Whether it was off steals or rebounds, Collier, with the ball in his hands, was an unstoppable force in transition. He’s an exceptionally quick player with the ball in his hands and opponents who gave him an alleyway to go had a very difficult time stopping him.
The 6-foot-3 guard took advantage of his downhill rim pressure with his playmaking too. He was incredible at keeping defenses honest if teams sent extra help defenders or tried to close off the paint. Collier did a great job finding dump-off opportunities for his teammates in the pick-and-roll when he had drop defenders backpedaling.
I also appreciated Collier’s craftiness in the pick-and-roll. He created advantages by keeping defenders in jail (on his back-hip); he also did an amicable job snake dribbling or rejecting screens to give him extra room to operate.
I don’t think his AST:TO ratio (4.3:3.3) didn’t quite do him enough justice because I think he’s a fairly polished playmaker, all things considered. He wasn’t surrounded by great shotmakers and his bigs didn’t have great hands, which reduced what his assists could have been.
Weaknesses:
Collier’s biggest concern, in my view, is his shot-making.
He would raise his ceiling immediately if he could make teams pay with better shooting from long distances; it would open up the rest of his game. He’s only 19-years-old and could still carve a very productive NBA career, though he shot just 33.8 percent from distance and 67.3 percent from the free-throw line.
The latter doesn’t suggest a huge uptick in the former’s percentage, nor does his low release (with low lift) help. That could be a problem against bigger guards or wings. Collier has excellent burst with an explosive first step, but if teams are going to duck under screens and/or be forced into short-er closeouts, it limits his offensive upside.
There were times when he got bit on screens and wasn’t always aware of his surroundings off-ball, which put him out of position. I will give Collier credit: He tries. He appears to have a good mindset on that end, which is key. There are multiple efforts if he gets a bit on screens or gets beaten on a blow-by. But he’s not always in great position (mostly off-ball), which could compromise the rest of the defense.
Projection: Picks No. 11-20
Depending on who you ask, Collier may be a polarizing prospect. I’m in on his upside, but he needs to develop his outside shooting while fine-tuning his defense and playmaking–he lost reps due to injury–to make me really feel comfortable. The tools are there for Isaiah Collier to carve out a long career. I’m in on him being an impact role player–which is his floor.
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