NBA Draft

Jazz Rookie Walter Clayton Jr. Posts Career-High vs. Thunder

Utah's late first-round draft pick had the best performance of his young career last night against the defending champions.
Jed Katz|
Dec 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) moves the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) defends during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Dec 7, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Walter Clayton Jr. (13) moves the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) defends during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Nowadays, it's rare to see a four-year college basketball player be as highly regarded as Walter Clayton Jr. was this NBA Draft. Despite entering the league at 22 years old, the former Florida star and 2025 National Champion was selected with the 18th overall pick in June, but many mock draft had him even higher.

The Utah Jazz are still rebuilding with a mix of young players and veteran talent. Lauri Markkanen remains the focal point of the offense, but the nucleus of Clayton, Ace Bailey, Keyonte George and more at least lay a foundation for the future.

Clayton's potential was certainly on display in last night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite a blowout 131-101 loss, the rookie impressed with 20 points and nine assists, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point territory.

What was most notable about the former Gator's performance was that he looked extremely poised with the ball in his hands. Clayton can certainly explode off the dribble, and did so at times, but the best part about his handle and athleticism is that the movement is never one speed; he can accelerate and decelerate better than most.

This shouldn't be much of a surprise for a multi-year college star, but Clayton wasn't rushing anything; he didn't rely on one specific way to score and managed to get his teammates involved as a distributing point guard.

Over his last three games, the 6-foot-4 rookie is averaging 14.7 points and 5.3 assists on 57-43-86 shooting splits. He has been uber efficient in an increased role on the offense end.

Clayton's minutes have steadily increased over the last few games, averaging 23.3 per game in December. This is a significant rise from last month, as he logged just 14.7 per game in November. It seems that Will Hardy is trusting him more with each step he takes. The head coach has praised Clayton in the past.

The wins haven't come easy for the Jazz, posting an 8-15 record thus far 12th in the Western Conference). However, they're on track to improve from a 17-65 2024-25 season, and a lot of that is due to the development of the young core.

Utah currently sits a half-game outside of the final Play-In Tournament spot, so the team is still in contention for its first postseason appearance since 2022. The Jazz are also 3-3 in their last six games, so the spark is there to build upon with a few West teams falling back.

It's no coincidence that Clayton's increased workload is correlating with Utah's improved record. According to databallr, the Jazz post a 119.8 offensive rating, 117.9 defensive rating and +1.9 net rating when he's on the floor in medium and high-leverage possessions. When he's not out there, those numbers drop to 112, 123 and -11.

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Jed Katz
JED KATZ

Jed is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in journalism. He also contributes at several other basketball outlets, including has his own basketball blog and podcast — The Sixth Man Report.

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