Isaiah Collier Makes NBA History in Jazz Win Over Short-Handed Pacers
On a night when the NBA’s slate was packed with marquee matchups, a quiet Tuesday tilt between the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers could’ve easily flown under the radar. But Isaiah Collier made sure it didn’t.
The Jazz’s 131-122 win over the Pacers won’t shake up the standings - Utah moved to 16-35, Indiana dropped to 13-38 - but it delivered a performance that belongs in the record books. Collier, the second-year guard out of USC, didn’t lead his team in scoring.
In fact, his 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting were only the fifth-highest on the team. But it was his passing that stole the show.
Collier dished out 22 assists, a career high and a number that puts him in rare air - not just in Jazz history, but across the entire NBA. He became the youngest player in league history to record 20 or more assists in a game.
Let that sink in. The youngest ever.
Only one player in Jazz history has handed out more assists in a single game: Hall of Famer John Stockton, the gold standard when it comes to floor generals. That’s the kind of company Collier is keeping now.
To find the last time any NBA player hit the 22-assist mark, you’ve got to go back nearly a year - March 7 of last season - when Nikola Jokić did it for the Nuggets. That’s the level of distribution we’re talking about here. Not just good - elite.
Now, let’s be honest. The Pacers were severely undermanned.
They were already reeling from a season-long absence of Tyrese Haliburton, who’s still recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals. On top of that, they were missing Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, and **T.J.
McConnell** - all out due to injuries or rest. That’s a lot of playmaking and defensive firepower sitting on the sidelines.
But that shouldn’t take away from what Collier accomplished. The Jazz were short-handed too, suiting up just seven players after pulling off a trade for Jaren Jackson Jr. earlier in the day. With a skeleton crew and a brand-new roster move, Utah still came out firing - and Collier was the engine behind it.
This wasn’t a one-off, either. While he’s only seventh on the team in scoring this season (averaging 9.5 points per game), Collier has quietly been one of the Jazz’s most consistent facilitators.
He’s now recorded 10 or more assists in six games this season. And even during Utah’s recent six-game losing streak, he managed to score in double figures in all but one contest.
What we saw Tuesday night was a glimpse of what the Jazz hope is a foundational piece. With the addition of Jackson Jr. signaling a shift toward building around size and defensive versatility, Collier’s emergence as a true floor general adds another layer to the rebuild. His vision, timing, and poise - especially in a game where he had to do more with less - suggest he’s ready for a bigger role.
Sure, a win over the last-place team in the East won’t change the Jazz’s trajectory overnight. But performances like this hint at what could be. When your name shows up next to John Stockton in the record books, people take notice - no matter who the opponent is.
Isaiah Collier just gave us a reason to keep watching.