How Walter Clayton Jr. performed in shooting drills at NBA Combine

Former Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. put his sharpshooting on display at the 2025 NBA Combine on Tuesday. Players competed in shooting drills, and he was among the best performers at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Clayton turned heads before the drills, hitting 21 3-pointers as he warmed up. He then made 17 of his 25 shots in the three-point star drill, which was tied for the third-best mark.

Walter Clayton 21/25 from 3 pic.twitter.com/1dEZ5jhouS

— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) May 13, 2025

Clayton’s best showing was in the spot-up shooting drill. He knocked down 20 of 25 attempts, which tied Eric Dixon, PJ Haggerty and Chaz Lanier for the most at the combine.

Clayton also excelled at the free throw line, making all 10 foul shots. He led the nation in 2022-23 with a .953 free throw percentage at Iona and tied a Florida record with 42 consecutive free throws made.

Clayton finished 12th overall in the three-point slide drill with a 16-of-27 mark. He didn’t perform as well in the off-the-dribble shooting drill, hitting 20 of 30 attempts.

Clayton posted the fifth-highest shooting percentage (71%) in the NBA Combine drills, according to the composite of all attempts from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Clayton measured in at 6’2″ barefoot, 199 pounds with a 6’4” wingspan and 8’1 ½” standing reach.

Clayton led the Gators to a national championship last season with career high averages in points (18.3), assists (4.2), field goal percentage (.448) and 3-point percentage (.386). He set a Florida single-season record with 713 points and made the second-most 3-pointers (117) in school history.

Clayton became the first player in program history to earn first-team All-America honors, adding Final Four and West Regional Most Outstanding Player recognition and SEC Tournament MVP. He averaged a Florida-record 23.9 points in his seven NCAA Tournament games as a Gator.

Walter Clayton Jr. projected as a first-round pick

Seven publications have Clayton as a first-round pick, including On3 and ESPN. He’s being projected to Orlando at No. 16 (SB Nation), Washington at No. 18 (CBS Sports), Miami at No. 20 (The Athletic) and Phoenix at No. 29 (Yahoo! Sports and Bleacher Report). Sports Illustrated projects Clayton to Boston early in the second round (No. 32).

Here’s what The Athletic had to say about Clayton:

“Clayton is this year’s big NCAA Tournament riser. The Florida guard was the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 18 points and four assists this year while shooting 45 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3 and 88 percent from the line. But more than that, the level of shot-making that Clayton can showcase at times is truly special. He can get to his shot from any footwork or any angle on the court, especially from distance. He’s comfortable using a change-of-pace dribble to get to a stepback, and then can also attack and drive off that to score around the rim. He’s a former high school quarterback and has real athleticism out there. The questions for me are twofold. First, his ball-screen reads weren’t always on point. He was terrific against Houston in the championship game, but the picture often looked a bit cloudy in terms of his decision-making. Then, on defense, the real question is if he’s a bit too far in-between positions. He got better this year as a senior but wasn’t always reliable throughout his college career. That’s concerning for an older, undersized player. Still, teams love Clayton’s toughness, and I would expect to hear his name called in the first round.”