Walter Marterry Clayton Jr. (born March 6, 2003) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

of 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 ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Iona Gaels The Iona Gaels are the athletics teams of Iona University, in New Rochelle, New York. They compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and participate in 21 NCAA Division I programs. Varsity athletic programs Men's basketball ...

and the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. With Florida, Clayton was a consensus first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 2025 and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player (MOP) after leading Florida to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

victory.

Early life and high school career

Walter Marterry Clayton Jr was born in

Sebring, Florida Sebring ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States. It is nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. It is the principal city of th ...

, on March 6, 2003. He is son of Cherie Ann Quarg, who played softball and basketball at Frostproof Middle-Senior High School and Walter Clayton Sr., who played basketball and football at Frostproof. His family moved to

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census. History Early history A survey by W.A. Williams and J. ...

, when he was 10. Clayton Jr. initially attended

Lake Wales High School Lake Wales High School is a high school located in Lake Wales, Florida, serving the city of Lake Wales and nearby communities such as Frostproof, Dundee, and Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of Lake Wales Charter Schools. History Lake Wales s ...

, where he played football and basketball. In basketball, he averaged 17.5 points, five rebounds, and 3.2 assists as a sophomore. Clayton transferred to

Bartow High School Bartow Senior High School is the only high school in Bartow, Florida. It resulted from a merger of the whites-only Summerlin Institute and Union Academy, a school for African Americans, after desegregation. History Summerlin Institute was fou ...

after his sophomore year. He averaged 15.4 points, 4.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game during his first season at Bartow as the Yellow Jackets won the Florida Class 6A state championship. Clayton committed to playing college basketball for

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

over offers from

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

, Charleston,

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

, and

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

. Clayton was considered a better college prospect in football and began playing the sport as a freshman in high school at the urging of his childhood friend,

Gervon Dexter Gervon Dexter Sr. (born October 5, 2001) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators. Early life Dexter attended Lake Wales ...

. He had offers to play football from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Notre Dame,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

College career

Clayton averaged 7.3 points per game during his freshman season at Iona. He was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year as a sophomore after averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game during the regular season. After the season, Clayton entered the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

. Clayton ultimately transferred to Gators. He also had considered transferring to St. John's and playing for his former Iona head coach,

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

. In his first season at Florida, Clayton averaged 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists and was honored as Second-Team All-SEC. He played an instrumental role in getting the Gators to the SEC Tournament Championship for the first time in 10 years and the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 3 years. Despite the loss, Clayton had 33 points in a historic performance against Colorado in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. After the 2023–24 season, Clayton declared for the

NBA Draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. However, he ended up withdrawing from the draft and returning to Florida for his senior season. It was during this season that Clayton had one of the best individual seasons in Florida basketball history. He led

to a 27–4 record in the regular season while averaging 17.2 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds. During this season, Clayton led Florida to wins over No. 1 Tennessee and at No. 1 Auburn, which was the first time Florida had ever beaten a No. 1 on the road. He also helped lead Florida to its best overall record and SEC record in 11 years. After the regular season, Clayton was honored as first-team All-SEC selection. On March 18, 2025, Clayton was named a first-team All American. Clayton went on to lead the Gators to the national championship, making a crucial defensive closeout, causing Houston's

Emanuel Sharp Emanuel Christopher Sharp (; born March 7, 2004) is a college basketball player for the Houston Cougars men's basketball, Houston Cougars of the Big 12 Conference. Early life and high school Coming out of high school, Sharp committed to play co ...

to pump-fake on a potential game-winning three-pointer and lose his dribble. Clayton's teammate

Alex Condon Alexander Condon (born 25 July 2004) is an Australian college basketball player for the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Early life and career Condon was born and grew up in Perth, Western Australia. He initially attended H ...

pounced on the loose ball to seal the Gators' third national championship in program history and first since 2007. Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP). After the season, Clayton was named the

SEC Male Athlete of the Year The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members include the flagship public universities of 12 states, 3 ...

, making him the first Florida basketball player to receive this honor.

Professional career

On June 25, 2025, Clayton was selected with the 18th overall pick by the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

in the first round of the

2025 NBA draft The 2025 NBA draft was the 79th edition of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual draft. Like the 2024 draft, this draft took place over two nights. The draft consisted of 59 picks as opposed to the full 60 due to the New York Knick ...

and subsequently traded to the

.Todd, Sarah (June 25, 2025). “Utah Jazz trade up, select Walter Clayton Jr.” _Deseret News_. Retrieved June 25, 2025. On July 2, 2025, Clayton signed with the Jazz with

Ace Bailey Irvine Wallace "Ace" Bailey (July 3, 1903 – April 7, 1992) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for eight seasons, from 1926–1933. His playing career ended with a hit he encountered with Edd ...

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 4 , , 16.1 , , .434 , , .357 , , .787 , , 2.2 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 31 , , 30.3 , , .455 , , .431 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , .953* , , 4.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 30.9 , , .432 , , .365 , , .877 , , 3.6 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 39 , , 39 , , 32.6 , , .448 , , .386 , , .875 , , 3.7 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 18.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 110 , , 27.8 , , .444 , , .386 , , .879 , , 3.4 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 15.2

Personal life

Clayton and his girlfriend, Tatiyana Burney, had a daughter in December 2023.

References

External links

Florida Gators bioIona Gaels bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Walter Jr. 2003 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Bartow High School alumni Basketball players from Polk County, Florida Florida Gators men's basketball players Iona Gaels men's basketball players Point guards Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Year winners Shooting guards Sportspeople from Lake Wales, Florida Washington Wizards draft picks