NEW YORK CITY, NY (WCJB) – Welcome to the NBA, Walter Clayton, Jr.
The Washington Wizards select the Lake Wales native, but they trade the No. 18 pick to the Utah Jazz. (they made him wear the wrong team hat).
The Gator star point guard averaged an eye-popping 22 points a game during the NCAA Championship and outdueled the likes of UConn, Auburn and knocked off Houston in the NCAA Championship game.
“I feel like I gained a lot, just being around those guys, my teammates [at Florida],” Clayton said on ESPN following his selection. “I don’t think people understand just the chemistry we had on and off the court and time that we spent together.”
“It starts with his character – he’s just an amazing young man,” head coach Todd Golden told NBA TV at Barclays Center ahead of the draft. “Incredibly coachable, a guy that wants to be a leader and a great work ethic, and obviously over the last year I’d argue he was the best player in college basketball. He led us to 36 wins and a national championship, best player on the floor in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, a guy that just has a great competitive nature about him.”
Clayton averaged 18.3 points and led the Gators to the 2025 national championship, earning consensus first-team All-American, Final Four and NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player, SEC Tournament MVP and first-team All-SEC honors this season.
Clayton holds two of the six highest-scoring seasons in program history, including a UF-record 713 in 2024-25. He graduated from UF in Spring 2025 with a degree in Educational Sciences.
Clayton joins Rutgers’ Ace Bailey, who went No. 5 to Utah.
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