Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Mock Draft Predicts Clippers Will Select All-American Guard in Round One

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By John Vaccaro | Last updated May 30, 2025 7:00 PM ET

There are many years in the NBA where it is difficult to find guys who are going to make an impact if you are picking late in round one. That doesn't seem like it will be a problem for the Los Angeles Clippers this year.

They will have either the 29th or 30th pick in the draft and have been projected to get some solid prospects so far in mock drafts.

The latest mock draft has them landing another solid prospect and this time he is somebody who has proven he is a winner.

In a new mock, Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor predicted the Clippers would use their firs-round pick to select Florida point guard Walter Clayton Jr.

Clayton had a dominant final college season. He led Florida to a national title while scoring 18.3 points per game and dishing out 4.2 assists per game. He also shot a strong 38.6% from three.

For his efforts, Clayton was named a consensus All-American and the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Not only would Clayton give the Clippers a scorer, but he'd also help with another issue. He'd give them another volume shooter.

The Clippers were actually pretty efficient from the three-point line this past season. At 37.3%, they shot the seventh-best percentage in the league.

However, they weren't getting shots up from outside as frequently as the rest of the league. Their 33.4 attempts per game were 29th of 30 teams.

Clayton has no such problem. He attempted 7.8 threes per game this past season and 7.1 the year before.

It's difficult to keep up in the NBA when you're consistently being outscored from behind the three-point line.

Clayton could help fix that and would be a good fit for the Clippers late in round one.

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

More must-reads: