Isaiah Collier’s stock at the Utah Jazz has risen quickly, now heralded as one of their brightest prospect in less than a year with them. But to anyone who’s followed his early career, this will come as no surprise. After all, he was a 5-star recruit coming out of Wheeler High School.

Again, it wasn’t very surprising when the Utah Jazz picked him as the 29th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He has since started 17 games for the Utah Jazz and made 42 appearances for them in total. But with a last name straight out of a French novel, you may be wondering about the young star’s roots. Well, let’s address that now.

Where is Isaiah Collier from? What is the Jazz star’s nationality?

Isaiah Collier was born to Chandra and Dwain Collier in Atlanta, Georgia, but he grew up a few miles away in the city of Marietta. He attended Wheeler High School where he was coached by his uncle, Larry Thompson. His parents, Chandra and Dwain, are both American nationals of African-American. Likewise, despite his ambiguous last name, Isaiah Collier is of African-American descent as well, and so are his siblings, Ameer and Kayla.

Moreover, Isaiah is an American national himself, and like most kids who grew up playing basketball in America, he too aspires to play for Team USA one day. A dream that may come to fruition sooner than he thinks if he keeps his current form up. As NBA fans, we’ve seen what he’s capable of in a Utah Jazz jersey, but how did he fare in his sole season as a college baller?

Which college did Isaiah Collier attend?

Coming out of Wheeler High School, Isaiah was a 5-star recruit. What’s even more impressive is that ESPN ranked him the number one prospect in the 2023 class. Given his obvious talent, he received several offers from big-name colleges like Michigan, UCLA, and Cincinnati. However, he chose the University of Southern California (USC) as his destination over the other offers in June 2023.

In his and the USC Trojans‘ first game of the season against Kansas State, Isaiah put up 18 points, with 3 rebounds and six assists. However, hot-headed as younger players tend to be, he fouled himself out of the game. His best showing for the Trojans came against Washington, where he scored 31 points, shooting at an astounding 70% clip as he made 14/20 of his field goals.

All in all, Collier averaged 16.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in his sole year as a college athlete. Following his impressive freshman year, Isaiah would forgo his college eligibility to declare himself for the 2024 NBA Draft. And we all know how the story goes from there. In less than a year spent in the NBA, Isaiah Collier has managed to make quite a name for himself. Having started 17 games now for the Utah Jazz, he will surely be one of the faces we see on our screens frequently during Jazz games!