Sexton (illness) won’t play in Sunday’s regular-season finale versus Golden State.

Sexton will end the 2023-24 campaign with four consecutive absences due to an illness. He had appeared in each of Utah’s previous 78 games this season, averaging 18.7 points, 4.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 three-pointers and 0.8 steals in 26.6 minutes while shooting 48.7 percent from the field.

Collin Sexton is an empty-calorie offensive player, a stat-stuffing scorer who can’t contribute to winning, or so the perception goes, a perception so prevalent even Sexton’s own coach, Will Hardy, bought in last season.

“Probably seeped into my head a little bit,” Hardy said. “It would be like taking somebody on a date but calling their ex first. I’m not sure why you would ever do that.”

Collin Sexton is not an empty-calorie player, a stat-stuffing scorer who can’t contribute because the Utah Jazz are winning—15 of the last 21 games since mid-December, to be precise—and Sexton is a big reason why. He’s averaging 17.4 points and connecting on 37.6% of his threes. In 21 games as a starter, those numbers jump to 22.7 ppg and 41.7%.

This season hasn’t been so much a revival for Sexton than a resurgence. His numbers were solid last season: 14.3 points, above 50% from the floor and nearly 40% from three. But he struggled with turnovers, made shaky decisions as a playmaker and didn’t defend. This season, his assists are up (five per game as a starter), his turnovers are down and his defense has been serviceable. Over the last 15 games, Utah’s defensive rating (113.9) ranks in the top 10, per NBA.com.