Isaiah Collier Makes NBA History with 22-Assist Night for Jazz: A Glimpse Into the Future
The Utah Jazz may be building for tomorrow, but on Tuesday night, Isaiah Collier gave fans a reason to believe the future might be arriving ahead of schedule.
In the Jazz’s 131-122 win over the Indiana Pacers, Collier didn’t just have a good night-he made NBA history. The rookie point guard dished out 22 assists, becoming the youngest player in league history to record 20 or more assists in a single game. That’s not just a milestone; it’s a record-breaker that stood untouched for over four decades.
Before Collier’s dazzling performance, the mark belonged to Ennis Whatley, who tallied 22 assists as a rookie for the Chicago Bulls way back on January 14, 1984. That record had quietly survived through generations of point guards-until Collier rewrote the books in Salt Lake City.
A Rare Feat in Any Era
To put this in perspective: 20-assist games are rare air in the NBA, even for seasoned veterans. The last time a player posted 20+ assists while playing the entire game?
That was Magic Johnson, in Game 5 of the 1991 NBA Finals. That’s the kind of company Collier just joined-an all-time great, on one of the game’s biggest stages.
And Collier’s performance wasn’t just about the numbers-it was about the way he orchestrated the offense. He controlled the tempo, read the defense with poise beyond his years, and made his teammates better on nearly every possession. This wasn’t just a flash of potential; it was a full-on showcase of what the Jazz front office saw when they used the 29th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to bring him aboard.
Nearly Topping a Franchise Legend
What makes Collier’s night even more impressive is how close he came to outdoing the greatest distributor in Jazz history-and the NBA’s all-time assist leader-John Stockton. Stockton holds the franchise record with 28 assists in a single game, set on January 15, 1991. Collier didn’t quite get there, but the fact that he was even in the neighborhood speaks volumes.
Prior to Tuesday night, Collier’s career-high in assists was 13, which came in a December loss to the Lakers. Since then, he’s had a handful of double-digit assist performances, but this was his first since recording 10 on January 20. It’s clear he’s trending in the right direction-and fast.
Finding His Scoring Touch, Too
While the passing stole the headlines, Collier’s scoring shouldn’t be overlooked. He added 17 points against Indiana, just one bucket shy of his season-high 19, which he set two nights earlier in Toronto. That makes back-to-back games with strong scoring efforts, another sign that he’s rounding out his offensive game.
Through 42 games this season-seven of them starts-Collier is averaging 9.6 points, 7.0 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game. Those numbers are already tracking ahead of his rookie-year averages of 8.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.3 boards over 71 games and 46 starts.
Building Momentum
What we’re seeing is a young guard growing into his role, gaining confidence, and starting to assert himself as a real playmaker in this league. The Jazz may not be chasing a playoff run this season, but performances like this one from Collier are exactly what you want to see from a rebuilding team-flashes of brilliance that suggest the pieces are starting to fit.
Collier’s 22-assist night wasn’t just a personal milestone-it was a signal. A signal that the Jazz have something real in their young point guard. And if this is just the beginning, Utah fans have every reason to be excited about what’s coming next.