The Utah Jazz selected Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. with the No. 18 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Clayton became the first Florida player selected in the first round of the NBA draft since Gators guard Tre Mann was selected No. 18 in the 2021 NBA Draft.
“Whoever picks him is going to get an incredible value,” said Gators head coach Todd Golden ahead of the draft. “In two years, people are gonna be, 'How did Walter Clayton drop to that? Why did he go there?'”
The former Florida product spent two years with the program and averaged 17.9 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. Clayton took a seismic jump his senior year and earned a slew of national awards.
The 6-foot-3 guard finished the season earning consensus First Team All American honors — the first in program history to do so — SEC Tournament MVP and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He finished as one of the five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, recognizing the best player in college basketball.
Clayton was a significant factor during the Gators’ national championship run. The Sebring, Florida, native averaged 22.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game over six tournament games. He logged two 30-point games and tallied 34 points against Auburn in the Final Four.
Facing a 12-point deficit against Houston in the national title game, Clayton recorded 11 points in the second half and lifted Florida to its third national championship in program history.
Before he transferred to UF, the All-American guard spent two seasons playing at Iona under head coach Rick Pitino. Clayton averaged 16.8 points and 3.2 assists per game during his sophomore year before transferring to UF.
The former Florida guard will join a Utah backcourt led by Collin Sexton with 2025 No. 5 pick Ace Bailey, 2024 No. 29 pick Isaiah Collier and 2023 No. 16 pick Keyonte George. The Jazz finished the 2025 NBA season with a 17-65 record, the worst record in the NBA.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is working his fifth semester at The Alligator and returns as the Summer 2025 assistant sports editor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his cat Pete and researching niche professional athletes (shoutout Jacquizz Rodgers).
