The Utah Jazz come into the 2025-26 season armed with a plethora of young talent. In order for the Jazz to come out of their rebuild and start competing in the Western Conference, they’re going to need several of those young players show growth and development quite soon. Looking at the Jazz roster, there is no shortage of players who could potentially have a breakout 2025-26 season.
Second-year forward Cody Williams is still a bit of an enigma, but he did have a solid summer league in Las Vegas. As a lottery pick, the Jazz obviously saw something in him towards being a key part of the team’s core. Taylor Hendricks is a good candidate to have a breakout year as he bounces back from a leg injury that ended his second season in the NBA prematurely.
But with the Jazz’s decision to trade Collin Sexton to the Charlotte Hornets and agreeing to a contract buyout with Jordan Clarkson, leaves an opening a guard, and leads to a potential breakout season from Isaiah Collier.
Isaiah Collier will have breakout season for Jazz
Collier’s rookie season got off to a slow start after he suffered a hamstring injury during preseason. His NBA debut was postponed, and he didn’t get back on the court until a few weeks into the regular season. Collier started the year coming off the bench, although he did get the start in only his second career game back on Nov. 9 in a win against the San Antonio Spurs.
In that win, Collier showed the all-around game that had made him one of the better guard prospects in the 2024 NBA Draft. He finished with a well-rounded stat line of seven points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot in a little over 24 minutes.
That one game aside, Collier would continue to come off the bench the New Year when he was moved into the starting lineup permanently. Overall, Collier appeared in a total of 71 games, including 46 starts, at a little over 25 minutes per game. He averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists with splits of 42.2 percent shooting from the field, 24.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 68.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
But as a starter, Collier’s numbers came out to 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists with splits of 44.3 percent shooting from the field, 26.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 70.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
As a guard, Collier’s three-point shooting efficiency stands out and needs to better. But his other shooting numbers and numbers in general, were much better as a starter. Coming into training camp and into the regular season, there’s no reason why Collier shouldn’t be the Jazz’s starting point guard. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that Collier could end up being a top 1-2 point guard of his draft class.
Collier set a Jazz record last year for most assists in a single season by a rookie, surpassing the legendary John Stockton. He led all rookies last season in assists per game. He is an elite playmaker no doubt about it. There might be better overall players, and guards in general, but as far as what a point guard is supposed to do, Collier stands out from the rest of his draft class.
The main thing to look for in Collier’s second season in the NBA is improved three-point percentage. But shooting is something that can be worked on and improved. He already has the floor leader game down pat. And with the opportunity he should receive this year, Collier is the Jazz player most likely to have a breakout season.
