INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Collin Sexton #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after scoring during the second half of a game against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome on October 28, 2026 in Inglewood, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images Connor Moreno Thu, October 29, 2026 at 7:00 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement INGLEWOOD, Calif. — With a minute remaining in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' 103-87 win over the crosstown Clippers , Lakers guard Collin Sexton charged through the lane and was fouled while making a layup over veteran center Brook Lopez.
As he lay on the ground, flexing his muscles towards the Clippers bench, Lopez accidentally bumped into him, prompting Sexton to shoot up from the ground and get in the big man's face. Lopez, who projects the demeanor of a 7-foot-tall teddy bear, put his hands up in defense and pleaded for mercy like Sexton was a mob boss ready to chop off a finger.
Sexton, still-faced and without blinking, gave Lopez the mercy he pleaded for and walked to the free throw line to sink his 21st point of the night.
"I know Brook … He's one of those guys, he's chill," Sexton said of the interaction postgame. "I just didn't know. We push, fight, foul. That's how the game is supposed to go. Whenever I'm out there, you've got to expect it.
"When I step between these lines, it's us against them. I'm going to do whatever my team needs from me. I feel like I turn into a different person when it's time to go … When I step into these lines, it's wartime."
Sexton had a game-high plus-minus of +23 in 21 minutes off the bench Wednesday night, but the point total and the 4-of-7 shooting from three wasn't what stood out.
It was his intensity. The wide eyes, screaming and maniacal smiling when guarding Clippers guard Cam Christie, in a clip that went viral during the game.
Anyone who engages with Sexton off the court knows him to be a quiet and reserved guy who moves with a calm smile. On the court, he plays with what head coach JJ Redick described as "insanity" after his debut in Utah.
"Sometimes it's hard to get his attention because he gets locked in, he's in the zone," Reddick said of Sexton. "I love it. I love his competitive fire. … I like when he's just in go mode. It puts pressure on the defense."
On the second night of a back-to-back where the Lakers were without two major sources of their identity early in this season — Luka Dončić, their leading scorer, and Ziaire Williams, their primary point-of-attack defender — they needed it from someone, and Sexton answered the call.
It's the reason Sexton was brought in in the first place, to provide Los Angeles the intensity it's been missing from his spot in the lineup. Someone who can inspire competitiveness in even the shortest of stints off the bench.
"I think our team responds to insanity," Redick said after Sexton's debut. "It's a good thing. He comes in the game and you know he's in the game. I think, defensively, he's trying to apply ball pressure. He's trying to make hard closeouts. He's trying to push the basketball. He's trying to touch the paint and there's an intensity to all that stuff and our guys responded."
Every basketball player has a flow state. Dončić gets into a zone where he can hit any shot or make any pass. The basket becomes ten feet wide when some of the best shooters in the league get going. But for Sexton, he's constantly in that zone. It's just different from everyone else's.
On what he's thinking of when he gets in that zone, Sexton said, "Just continuing to do what's needed. Continuing to stay locked in. … If I do something, it's like, lock back in. Because I say it all the time. If you don't do it twice, then the first time it didn't really happen."
You can follow Connor on Twitter at @cmorenoNBA .
Source: Sports
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