Lakers Player Profile: L.A.’s New Sixth Man, Collin Sexton
Taking a look at one of the more unexpected signings of the Lakers’ offseason: Collin Sexton.
An underappreciated talent who can be a really solid rotation player for Los Angeles this season.
After the signings of Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Quentin Grimes were announced, word broke that Collin Sexton had agreed to a two-year, $19 million deal with the Lakers on July 1st, 2026.
Sexton was drafted in the summer of 2018 and will be heading into his 9th NBA campaign at 27 years old. In his 8 seasons of play, he’s never played in a single playoff game. That may seem alarming at first, but to no fault of Collin’s, he’s only ever been a part of tanking squads who weren’t really in any position to win much.
He played in Cleveland for four seasons, then for Utah for the next three, where he played alongside Walker Kessler. He was then traded from Utah to Charlotte in June 2025 and, in the same season, was traded to Chicago.
None of those teams were playoff teams to begin with.
Despite this, Sexton always produced at a high level in his role. Here in Los Angeles, he’ll have the opportunity to showcase his skills on a team that’s eyeing a deep playoff push.
Energy, Hustle and Elite Efficiency
He’s a high-motor player, full of energy, and can push the tempo when needed. Sexton is projected to be the definitive 6th man on this Lakers team and provide a huge scoring boost off the bench when Doncic or Reaves take a breather.
He averaged 15.4 points per game last season and averages 18.3 points for his career. One thing that sticks out on the stat sheet is his incredible efficiency and consistency. He’s hovered around 40% from three his entire career and shoots 47.2% from the field overall.
In his last four seasons, he’s shot 48.5%, 48.0%, 48.7%, and 50.6% from the field. Consistent efficiency like that is incredibly valuable, especially for a 3-level scoring guard such as Collin.
The Scoring Microwave Off the Bench
Over the last several seasons, the Lakers have had one of the league’s lowest-scoring benches in both the regular season and the playoffs. They’ve had great top-heavy talent with little reinforcement from their second unit, and it ultimately has resulted in their playoff shortcomings.
Now that’s not to say Sexton completely solves all of their issues, but they haven’t quite had a guard like him come off their bench in quite some time, really since Malik Monk in 2021-2022.
His scoring ability is great, yes, but it’s how he does it that is equally as intriguing. One of Sexton’s best offensive attributes is his ability to apply pressure on the rim. He can attack the paint at will because of his speed, blowing past defenders all the way to the cup.
Reaves and Grimes do this well, too. Not only can the three of them hurt you from the three-point line, but they can attack close-outs, collapse the defense, score at the rim, or drive and kick. Sexton is a hustle player, but despite his willingness to defend, he is a smaller guard at 6’3, and that unfortunately presents challenges on that end of the ball.
But the Lakers know that, and that’s not what they’re bringing him in to do.
He’s here to take some of the scoring burden off of Austin and Luka, and his addition to this team, along with Grimes, Kessler, and Mamu, can really propel this Lakers team to becoming one of the best offenses in the league.
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Categorized:Lakers