Isaiah Collier could be the Sixers’ 16th pick, but he’s No. 1 in his mind: ‘It’s going to show’

CHICAGO — Isaiah Collier exudes extreme confidence — and it’s easy to see why.

The point guard was the No. 1 high school player in the class of 2023, according to Rivals and ESPN. He swept the Morgan Wootten and Naismith Prep 2023 national player of the year awards. And the Georgia native shared 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP honors with former Camden High School standout DJ Wagner.

“I feel like I’m still one of the best players in this draft,” the University of Southern California freshman said at the NBA combine. “The jump shot didn’t fall as well as I wanted to in college, but I feel like I’ve been working. The shot has been evolving and I’m continuing to work on it.”

» READ MORE: NBA Draft Combine notes: Bronny James sees himself as a role player

Despite compiling an extensive resume and putting up thousands of shots each day, the 19-year-old’s draft stock fell following his lone season in Los Angeles. The speedster was considered a potential No. 1 pick early in the season before suffering a broken right hand that sidelined him for four weeks.

Now, the 6-foot-5, 210-pounder is projected to go in the middle of next month’s NBA draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. If available, Collier could be a solid pick for the 76ers with the No. 16 pick.

A great passer and facilitator, Collier could take some ballhandling duties off All-Star Tyrese Maxey. He also possesses a solid combination of strength and explosiveness. His athleticism enables him to get to the basket, while his strength allows him to play with his back to the basket and create scoring opportunities for others. He was also an above average help defender at USC.

But Collier needs to navigate screens better. He also needs to cut down his tendency to over dribble and become a more consistent shooter. Even with those disadvantages, he has the potential to develop into a solid starting point guard.

» READ MORE: NBA Draft Combine dispatch: A sampling of Sixers draft prospects, in their own words

“You know Tyrese Maxey is a great player,” Collier said. “Wherever I go, I just hope it’s the right situation. I’m just going in there trying to do anything to win.”

Of all his positive attributes, Collier’s basketball IQ and strength are the most NBA ready.

“Just having that IQ since I was a young age, just seeing the floor differently from a PG perspective,” Collier said. “It’s always been great for me and an advantage for me.”

He averaged 16.3 points on 49.0% shooting along with 4.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 27 games. And while Collier was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, he only shot 67.3% from the foul line.

Before his injury, Collier averaged 15.4 points while shooting 50.6% from the field. He led the team with 66 assists.

» READ MORE: Bronny James is the main attraction at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. He wants to be more than ‘LeBron James’ son’

But he displayed more poise in clutch moments after returning from his injury. Collier averaged 17.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.8 turnovers while shooting 37.5% on three-pointers in his final 11 games.

“I feel like the second half of my season when I came back from post injury was the person I should have been all year,” he said. “I mean people might question that, but I feel like that’s who I am. I get on myself about that a lot. I should have been [that] all year, but it is what it is.

“It’s going to show.”