The Utah Jazz took a chance on Walter Clayton Jr. with the 18th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and the rookie point guard has shown plenty of potential. Coming off a national championship with the Florida Gators, Clayton was seen as one of the premier scorers in his class, and he finally showed it in Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As expected, the Thunder blew the Jazz out of the water, picking up a 30-point win in Utah. However, despite the loss, Clayton finished with career highs of 20 points and nine assists, shooting 8-12 from the field and 2-5 from three-point range.
After the game, Clayton opened up about the best performance of his young career, but gave a mature answer.
“Winning would have felt better, but it feels good,” Clayton responded. “Obviously, I had a good game. Learning not to take nights like this for granted, so it felt good.”
Wait Clayton Jr. after his first career 20 point game. #TakeNote | @kslsports pic.twitter.com/9eKEFNTjwR
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) December 8, 2025Walter Clayton has a career night
Clayton has had his three highest-scoring games of the season in each of his last three outings, dropping 13, 11, and 20 points, respectively. Clayton was asked what he thinks is contributing to this recent success.
“Just mentally preparing better. Knowing when I’m looking out there for on the floor, and just being decisive with everything,” Clayton said. “[I’m learning] through the guys around me, watching film, and what the coach is saying in my ear.”
Clayton went the first 16 games of his career with scoring 10+ points just twice, but he has now done it in three consecutive games. After shooting just 38.2% from the field and 27.5% from deep in those first 16 games, Clayton tried not to let it affect him.
“A little bit,” Clayton responded when asked if shots not falling were frustrating. “I’ll be honest. But, you know, shots go in, shots don’t go in sometimes. So you can’t really let it affect your whole game.”
Nov 16, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bulls at Delta Center. | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images
As Clayton continues to find his place on this young Jazz team, we should see more of these high-scoring outings from the rookie. There is no doubt that Clayton is an uber-talented scorer, and he will continue to show more promise as he finds his rhythm.
Be sure to bookmark Utah Jazz On SI and follow @JazzOnSI on X to stay up-to-date on daily Utah Jazz news, interviews, breakdowns and more!