Utah Jazz Coach Sounds Off on Walter Clayton After Win vs. Thunder

The Utah Jazz took home their third win of the Salt Lake City Summer League on Tuesday vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, 86-82, in narrow fashion once again, officially going undefeated in their three showings at home before heading on the road to Las Vegas.

And in the Jazz's third win in SLC, it was a big-time performance out of the rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr., who had a statement performance in a night without Brice Sensabaugh and Ace Bailey in the lineup in just the third game under his belt as a pro.

During his 28 minutes on the floor, Clayton finished with a game-high 20 points, paired with four assists, a block, and a steal while cashing in four threes en route to Utah's third victory of the summer; an impressive outing for the Florida product and perhaps the biggest catalyst behind the Jazz's winning efforts.

The @utahjazz finish the Salt Lake City Summer League with a perfect 3-0 record, downing the @okcthunder 86-82.

Walt Clayton Jr. had 20 points to lead the Jazz.#TakeNote

pic.twitter.com/dPJtNMjDSF
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 9, 2025

And following the Jazz's win, we saw summer league head coach Scott Morrison speak a bit about what he saw out of Clayton Jr. on his big night.

"It's kind of his reputation to make big shots — and he certainly lived up to that in his first three games," Morrison said after the Jazz's win. "Hopefully, he can get a little bit more consistent. Great shooters always believe they'll make the next one, and if he didn't have great shooting ability, great confidence, he wouldn't be able to hit those three big threes in each game."

Certainly a strong night for their rookie guard, but he also leaves room for improvement moving forward when it comes to the consistency with his shot, shooting a 5/14 clip from the field with three turnovers. And for a high-level shooter like Clayton Jr., who's proven to make big-time shots pretty frequently, there's tons of confidence that ability can come around in due time.

And when asking Morrison, it could've been an even bigger night for Clayton Jr. when factoring in his missed assist opportunities.

"He only had six assists, but I feel like if we shot the ball well in the first half, he would have had at least 10," Morrison said.

The Jazz still got some solid contributions to surround Clayton Jr. as well, getting an impressive 18 points and 15 rebounds from Kyle Filipowski in the frontcourt, and a nice showing from Elijah Harkless on both ends with 11 points next to two steals and two blocks. But, as Utah also did shoot a collective 37.9% from the field, it's something to keep an eye on as their motions in the summer league continue forward.

Kyle Filipowski posted a double-double, and Walter Clayton Jr. led Utah in scoring as the Jazz beat the Thunder. 🎷 pic.twitter.com/wQt2vOeFWW
— theScore (@theScore) July 9, 2025

Clayton Jr. will roll into Las Vegas with some notably positive momentum, where the Jazz can hope to keep their winning ways going past three-straight.

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