Austin Walton is an attorney and American sports agent who represents players in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. He is the CEO and founder of NEXT SPORTS Agency, who represents Bones Hyland;

Dean Wade Dean Jackson Wade (born November 20, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball, Kansa ...

; Aaron Wiggins;

Kent Bazemore Kenneth Lamont Bazemore Jr. (born July 1, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. As a junior at Old Dominion University in 2010–11, Bazemore won the Lefty Driesell Award, an award giv ...

; Dereon Seabron and

Jared Rhoden Matthew Jared Rhoden ( ; born August 27, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He ...

of the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

;

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

;

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

;

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

;

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

and

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

Early life

Walton was born in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. He attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

earning a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, majoring in marketing. He attained a Master of Science degree in Sports Administration from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

, and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

(J.D.) degree from

South Texas College of Law South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL or South Texas) is a private law school in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1923 when the YMCA made the decision to establish a law school with a focus on offering night classes for working professi ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Career

Walton started a sports management company, Walton Sports Management Group, in 2009, becoming one of the youngest CEOs of a basketball agency at the time.

Andrew Goudelock Andrew Darius Goudelock (born December 7, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). Standing at , he plays at the shooting guard position. He played college basketball for the ...

, the 46th overall pick in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponso ...

was Walton's first client. Walton has represented basketball players including NBA and international players. Most notably, he is known as being the agent for

. Bazemore came into the NBA as an undrafted rookie, playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors summer league teams, eventually signing with the Golden State Warriors. On July 1, 2016, Walton negotiated a $70 million contract over 4 years for Bazemore. The contract made Bazemore the highest paid undrafted player in the history of the NBA. In March 2016, ESPN writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss published a story about how

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

successfully signed away

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...

from Nike in the 2013 offseason, and revealed that Bazemore played a significant role in the signing. Austin is currently CEO of NEXT SPORTS Agency, representing several NBA athletes.

References

External links

NEXT SPORTS Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Austin Living people Lawyers from Atlanta American sports agents Year of birth missing (living people)