Utah Jazz's Walt Clayton Jr. Gets Shining Summer League Review

During their time in this year's summer league, the Utah Jazz saw their fair share of standouts throughout their time in both Salt Lake City in Las Vegas.

Brice Sensabaugh had a record-setting scoring performance in Salt Lake City, Kyle Filipowski had multiple double-doubles and 30-point showings, Cody Williams proved to make some solid strides forward with multiple 20-point games, and Ace Bailey, while appearing in only two games, had presented his fair share of flashes and moments as well.

But one name who also managed to show out in a big way was the 18th-overall pick from this past draft in Walt Clayton Jr., who, while only appearing in four contests, made a major statement as to being a quality piece to watch in this backcourt for not just this season, but the future ahead.

And with Clayton Jr.'s summer league in the books, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale outlined an intriguing grade for the Florida products first few NBA performances–– grading him as an A- after showing an array of skills on the offensive end.

"If there's one thing Clayton made clear through his four summer-league appearances, it's that he plans to inflate Utah's entertainment value by a factor of 1 trillion," Favale wrote. "Draftniks weren't kidding when they noted he could get off any type of shot. At various points in Salt Lake City and one Vegas contest, he scored using gather and escape dribbles, curling around screens, snaking pick-and-rolls, getting defenders on his back hip and dribbling into runners, attacking right only to pivot left after picking up his dribble for a scoop shot—the list goes on."

"Such a deep armory can invite overtly bad looks. Clayton had his share of those. But the off-ball movement lends itself to a more plug-and-play style," Favale continued. "He won't hijack possessions with the big-boys club. He can get too cavalier with his handle and needs to look for his bigs more coming around screens. With the exception of one game, though, he wasn't really a turnover disaster, and he made some nice reads leading breaks and spraying the ball to shooters and trailing cutters."

Clayton proved to be capable of being a tough shot-maker as he was during his time at Florida, was a versatile fit in the backcourt with the efficiency to play a variety of roles, and has the look of being a day one impact player on the offensive end. And with that, he's landed an A-.

Walter Clayton Jr. busting out ALL the tricks on this drive 🤯

Pretty move from the Jazz First Round pick!#NBA2KSummerLeague on ESPN pic.twitter.com/9egzG0Ho7P
— NBA (@NBA) July 11, 2025

It's really exactly the type of player the Jazz were seeking in their selection of Clayton Jr.; an experienced, older name to add at the second half of the first, so eager to secure him that they traded up three spots for him, and has proven he's all he's advertised to be before going down with a hamstring injury for his Las Vegas debut.

Even while a limited sample size, a successful one for the Jazz rookie.

It's only summer league, but so far, Clayton Jr. has shown all of the right qualities to be a difference-maker for the Jazz.

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