Clayton Jr. Shows Out in Win Over Thunder

Former Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 20 points for the Utah Jazz in an 86-82 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Former Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. had his best performance in the NBA Summer League with 20 points against Oklahoma City. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Producing the best game of his Salt Lake City Summer League run, former Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. helped the Utah Jazz end the event unbeaten with an 86-82 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. 

Clayton Jr. supplied a game-high 20 points, four assists, one rebound, a steal and a block in his first start of the summer for the Jazz. 

leading all scorers and dropping your first 20-piece? the summer's just getting started for @w1clayton 🔥#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/PRSIKOeSIq

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) July 9, 2025

“Definitely feeling more comfortable,” Clayton Jr. said during his postgame interview. “That just comes with the games and the experience.”

It wasn’t the best of beginnings for him, only making one of his first nine shots. However, he exploded in the second half against the Thunder, scoring 15 points, with 12 coming in the third quarter. 

The former consensus First-Team All-American made it easy for himself on the offensive end, finding open, spot-up looks along the perimeter and waiting for the ball to come his way. 

His final 3-pointer was reminiscent of the ones he took consistently throughout last season’s run in the NCAA Tournament, though. He used a screen on the right wing and instantly pulled the trigger on a 27-footer as he came around it. This shot gave the Jazz an 82-80 lead with 2:31 remaining.  

WALTER CLAYTON JR WITH THE CLUTCH 3 TO TAKE BACK THE LEAD

20 PIECE FOR THE ROOKIE pic.twitter.com/kJQsdJilAd

— Jazz Lead (@JazzLead) July 9, 2025

His 20 points in this game were more than his previous two games combined, as well. He scored just 13 total points against the Philadelphia 76ers (nine points) and Memphis Grizzlies (four points). 

Clayton Jr. will now head to the NBA 2k26 Summer League in Las Vegas for the next set of summer league games. The first game for him in Las Vegas will be against the Charlotte Hornets and No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel. This game is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET. It will be televised on ESPN.