Walter Clayton Jr.’s road to the NBA is truly a one a kind story. After starting his career by playing and learning a new position under Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, Clayton parlayed that experience into a national championship run with the Florida Gators.
Clayton, who is currently projected as a late first-round pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft, is appreciative of each experience that has led him to this point.
“Just thankful for the people that have been in my life, and just thankful for the journey,” Clayton said in Road to the Draft presented by Jeep. “I’m ready. I’m ready, for sure.”
A pure point guard in high school, Clayton embraced the challenge of becoming a combo guard during his time at Iona. After averaging 7.3 points per game as a freshman, Clayton averaged an impressive 16.8 points per outing as a sophomore while helping lead Iona to a conference title.
“The combo guard transition … it was really just looking to score more,” Clayton said. “I was also so pass-first minded. At Iona, Coach P wanted me to just score first more, and it kinda opened up more scoring for me.”
While he was initially going to follow Pitino to his next stop, Clayton — a Florida native — ultimately chose to instead transfer to Gainesville after his sophomore season after hearing Gators coach Todd Golden’s vision for the program along with the news that his daughter was on the way.
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Clayton continued to build on the success he had at Iona at Florida. As a junior, he averaged 17.6 points per game while helping Florida capture a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He then decided to return for his senior year to handle, in his words, some “unfinished business.” Specifically, scouts wanted to see him handle the ball more, something that happened organically with teammate and fellow guard Zyon Pullin headed to the NBA.
It’s safe to say that Clayton more than handled his business this past season. The Gators’ leading scorer last season, Clayton led Florida to the school’s first national title since 2007. He averaged 22.3 points per game during Florida’s successful run through the NCAA Tournament that was capped off by a 65-63 championship game win over Houston.
Clayton is now hard at work preparing for the next journey in his basketball career. He is hoping to parlay his unique experiences into a long and successful run in the NBA. He has never put a limit on where his game can go, “so I’m just going to continue to work to get better every day.”
Walter Clayton Jr. scouting report
He is one of the very best shooters in this draft, has the versatility to play both on and off the ball and the physical strength to be a more competitive defender in the NBA than we saw for most of his college career. — CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein
Pro comparison
Jordan Clarkson
Height
6-foot-3
Weight
195 pounds
Facts and stats
Finished his college career at Florida after spending his first two seasons at Iona Averaged 17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game during two seasons at Florida Clayton’s 95.3% free throw percentage during his final year at Iona was tops in NCAA’s Division IThe first player in Florida program history to earn first-team All-America honors, adding Final Four and West Regional Most Outstanding Player recognition and SEC Tournament MVP 1,346 points as a Gator is the most over a two-year span in program historyHas two of the top six highest-scoring seasons in program history 117 3-pointers during the 2024-25 season is the second-most in program history
Strengths
Versatility as a combo guard who can play and possible excel at multiple positions History of coming up clutch in big moments/games
Weaknesses
Not regarded as an elite defenderInconsistencies as a shooter and as a decision maker
