Walter Clayton Jr. Reveals Favorite NBA Player Without Hesitation

Yet for Clayton Jr., the journey didn’t start off easy. He was a zero-star recruit coming out of high school and ranked just the No. 69 point guard in his class nationally. But he happened to land in the hands of arguably the greatest coach of all time, Rick Pitino, who offered him a chance at Iona.

Clayton spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Iona before transferring to Florida after Pitino accepted the head coaching job at St. John’s. Now, with the NBA draft just about a week away, Clayton is projected to hear his name called—whether it’s in the first or second round. Most mock drafts have him going somewhere between picks 20–30 on day one.

Ahead of the draft, Clayton Jr. sat down with the “NBA Future Starts Now” social media team, where he was asked who his favorite NBA player was. He didn’t even have to think twice—his answer came instantly: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

“LeBron James,” Clayton Jr. said. “That’s who I grew up watching, man. He’s been in the league since I was born.”