Immediately after the ball left Collins’ hands he covered his face and was devastated.
“I just got the rebound, there was a lot of swiping hands, was crowded, didn’t know what decisions to make offensively, so I tried to pass the ball and ended up throwing a fireball into the crowd,” Collins said afterward, shaking his head in disappointment. “Stuff happens.”
The Warriors took the ball out of bounds and the Jazz immediately fouled to send Stephen Curry to the free throw line. Once the ball was dead and they were heading over for free throws, Collins dropped to the floor in a squat, covering his face with his hands.
He was clearly feeling the weight of the game on his shoulders and once Sexton saw him, he rushed over.
Sexton lifted Collins up, patted him on the chest and continuously told him that it was ok, that there was more time on the clock, that the Jazz still had a chance, that they needed Collins to have his head in the game.
He was clapping and pounding Collins on the chest and was unrelenting in hyping up his downtrodden teammate.
“I almost sort of expected it,” Collins said of Sexton. “That’s just kind of the nature of Collin and the kind of teammate he is, trying to just pick me up…That’s my brother. I appreciate him, always.”
A teammate that can immediately see the need to help out someone and to keep them in the moment while also pumping them up in their worst moment is invaluable. That is the kind of guy you absolutely want on the roster.
May we all find someone that can be a Collin Sexton in our lives.