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NBA Mock Draft Has Walter Clayton Jr. Paired With $313 Million Star After Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Regla | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 2:35 PM ET

With the Florida Gators winning the National Championship in the rear view, all eyes now turn to NBA draft.

Typically, a No 1. seed and title team would be filled with lottery caliber prospects. However, that’s not the case with the Gators, which makes them so unique.

According to CBS Sports Mike Trotter, Florida is the first team in the modern era to win a national championship without a top-100 recruit. Although the Gators do not have a top of the draft level player on their team, Walter Clayton Jr. is the next closest thing.

After his strong play, Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the tournament and raised his draft stock along the way.

In ESPN’s latest mock draft following the Gators’ championship win, draft expert Jonathan Givony projected Clayton to go in the first round to an interesting landing spot.

According to Givony, he projects the Boston Celtics to take the senior at No. 28.

If Givony’s prediction is correct, the move would pair Clayton with the current NBA champions, and their $313 million dollar superstar Jayson Tatum.

Playing with that caliber of talent from the onset should be a useful learning experience for Clayton as he begins his professional career. Yet it may also make it difficult to earn regular minutes.

There also remains skepticism surrounding how Clayton’s size, defense and decision-making will translate to the next level.

Only time will tell if Clayton can carry over his success to the NBA.

Fortunately, starting his career in a place like Boston and next to a player like Tatum, should give him as good of a head start as possible.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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