It’s been 115 days since LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it seems as though the Cavs are off to a rocky start, I, as one of the few real fans left, still have hope. The 19-year old phenom that they just drafted with the eighth pick is the reason.

Chris Lee | MCT Campus

Alabama guard Collin Sexton leads a fast break in the second half during an SEC tournament quarterfinal game between Auburn and Alabama on Friday, March 9, 2018, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. (Chris Lee/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS)

Meet Collin Sexton: the Cavs’ rookie point guard out of the University of Alabama. From watching him play during high school and college, this guy has an air about him that is just impossible to ignore. While I hate to make speculations early on, there are numerous aspects of his personality that bring up shades of Kobe Bryant.

In an article he wrote for the Players’ Tribune, Sexton revealed that Bryant has always been his favorite player growing up, and that he has always admired the mindset that Bryant possessed (also known as the “Mamba Mentality”). While there have been a plethora of players to be dubbed “the next Kobe,” that is not the case I am making here today. Collin Sexton clearly has his own style of play that has, to this point, done wonders for him. Whether he’s talking trash or running full speed down the lane, Sexton has taken the game and made it his own.

Sexton has always given off the impression of someone who was born to lead. Sexton was a highly-touted prospect coming out of high school. However, Sexton chose Alabama over many top basketball schools in the country. While this meant that Sexton had more of a chance to shine, it also meant that Sexton would have to become one of the leaders of the team––as a freshman.

Let’s fast-forward to about a month into the 2017 college basketball season. The day was Nov. 25, 2017. Alabama was playing against the University of Minnesota. With ten minutes left to go in the game, a brawl caused Alabama’s entire bench to get ejected. To add insult to injury, another player fouled out, while another had to leave due to injury.

That left Collin Sexton and the few members of the Crimson Tide forced to play three-on-five basketball. In the words of Matt Ellentuck of SBNation, “This game should’ve been over. Somehow, it wasn’t.”

Even though the Tide would eventually lose the game, Sexton put up 40 points in, arguably, one of the most impressive efforts in college basketball history. Not only did this game show off Sexton’s amazing ability to lead and score, it was one of the biggest examples we’ve seen of Sexton having the famously-dubbed “Mamba Mentality.” While most players would have given up during this freak situation, Sexton saw an opportunity to lead his team to a win.

Performances like these show that Sexton is a player that guys can rally behind, someone who is capable of elevating the players around him. Not only did Sexton exhibit the “Mamba Mentality” during his three-on-five performance, four months later, he hit a game-winning finger roll to keep Alabama’s NCAA Tournament hopes alive––a finger roll that looked eerily similar to one from a certain Bryant in the 2002 NBA playoffs.

While Sexton has had plenty of success when the lights are brightest, his successes have come from many years of hard work. Sexton has proven to have a work ethic similar to that of his idol Bryant, who is widely known among the NBA for his insane hunger for the game. According to Sports Illustrated, “[Bryant] used to show up to practice at 5 a.m. and leave at 7 a.m…in high school.”

As he revealed in his article for the Players’ Tribune, Sexton has spent years rigorously working on his game: “I go to the gym every night and I don’t leave until I’ve made 300 jump shots.”

While many players talk a big game about their work ethics, what makes Sexton’s believable is the intensity he plays with. Going by the nickname “Young Bull,” Sexton plays every game as if it is his last, as many videos have spread across the internet of Sexton locking down opponents with an attitude rarely seen among most players.

Though the Cavaliers probably will not achieve much more than a push for the eighth seed, the future of the team looks a lot brighter with Sexton on the roster. Barring serious injury, Sexton has the potential to be one of the best guards in the league for years to come. Sexton has always had to play with a chip on his shoulder, something to prove, each time he has stepped on the court. I believe that this step in his career will be no different.

“While other people might think of me as a late bloomer, that’s because they haven’t seen the work I’ve put in my entire life,” Sexton said in the Players’ Tribune. “In my mind, I’m right on schedule.”