Nelson Chenault

Todd Golden Reveals What Makes Walter Clayton Jr. A Special Talent

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sadik Hossain | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 3:02 AM ET

Walter Clayton Jr. was the name on everyone’s lips as Draft Day finally landed. Florida may not have churned out many NBA stars recently, but Clayton changed that narrative this year. After guiding the Gators to their first national championship in 18 years, the 6-foot-2 guard entered the draft as one of the hottest prospects.

Clayton’s Draft Day took a wild turn when the Wizards picked him at No. 18, then immediately sent him to the Utah Jazz. The deal pays him $19.32 million across four years, including $3.99 million in his first season.

"Incredibly coachable, a guy that wants to be a leader... just has a great competitive nature about him." ️@TheAndyKatz spoke with Florida HC Todd Golden about projected 1st-Rd pick Walter Clayton Jr. pic.twitter.com/L1Yf5fcPUJ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 25, 2025

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden was present in New York City for the draft and expressed strong praise for Clayton in a pre-draft NBA TV interview.

“Incredibly coachable, a guy who wants to be a leader and a great work ethic,” Golden said. “Over the last year, I’d argue he was the best player in college basketball. He led us to 36 wins and a national championship … just a guy with a great competitive nature about him.”

“He’s a guy that these NBA franchises are going to look at and say, ‘This is a guy that we can play next year that can help us win, that can space the floor, that can make plays out of the ball screen, a guy that has range up to 28, 29, 30 feet, and can make players around him better. ”

Clayton is the 13th Florida player to be chosen in the first round since center Neal Walk went No. 2 to Phoenix in 1969, following UCLA’s Lew Alcindor. The Gators’ most recent first-rounder was Tre Mann, selected 13th by Oklahoma City in 2021.

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

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