2025 NBA Draft: Walter Clayton Jr. selected No. 18 overall in Round 1
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Walter Clayton Jr. has a new team.
Clayton, forever a Florida legend after leading the program to the 3rd national championship in program, is now a member of the Utah Jazz. As part of a reported trade, the Washington Wizards selected Clayton with the No. 18 overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night in Brooklyn. Though the Wizards made the pick, Clayton is off to Salt Lake City.
Washington is trading Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 18 to Utah, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025
UF’s first first-team All-American, Clayton had the most productive individual season in Florida basketball history with 713 points scored. Clayton has a strong claim to the most decorated Gator season ever, with a list of individual honors that includes NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player and All-Tournament Team, SEC Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team and first-team All-SEC.
Utah is getting a certified shooter in Clayton, a 6-2, 199-pound guard. He made 117 3-pointers in the 2024-25 campaign, which ranks 2nd best all-time for a single season at Florida. He totaled 235 field goals, which is good for fifth among all Gators.
A Lake Wales, Florida native, Clayton transferred to Florida to play for Todd Golden in 2023 after 2 seasons at Iona under Rick Pitino. In 2 seasons as a Gator, Clayton was a 76-game starter, scoring 1346 points on 44% shooting from the field, 38% shooting from 3-point territory and 87.6% at the foul line. Clayton also added 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in orange and blue.
Clayton is the 13th player in program history to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
