Walter Clayton Jr. Reportedly Among Players to Get 2025 NBA Draft Green Room Invites
Florida standout Walter Clayton Jr. is among the 24 prospects invited to attend the 2025 NBA Draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported.
Players joining the green room will wait to hear their names called in front of the draft podium, according to Givony.
The NBA decides which prospects to invite by asking leaders of teams drafting in the first round to vote on which players they expect to receive top-25 picks, per Givony.
The league first invited 13 players to attend the draft in an initial wave of invitations that included projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg alongside Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, Kasparas Jakucionis, Egor Demin, Carter Bryant, Derik Queen and Asa Newell, according to Givony.
Players who received their invitations in this latest round alongside Clayton include French prospect Joan Beringer, Colorado State's Nique Clifford and Washington State's Cedric Coward, Givony reported.
Jonathan Wasserman projected that the Miami Heat will select Clayton at No. 20 in his latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, and noted that "scouts aren't confident that Walter Clayton Jr. will still be around in the 20s."
"His shotmaking, toughness and winning pedigree have teams looking past the size and athletic questions. He'll be viewed as the type of guard who can play minutes and provide instant offense as a rookie," Wasserman wrote.
ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected that Clayton will hear his name called by the Phoenix Suns at No. 29 as a player "who might be value-additive on a rookie-scale deal immediately."
Clayton, who withdrew from the 2024 NBA draft in order to return for a final season with Florida, upped his draft stock with a dominant performance during the Gators' run to the national championship.
He was named the 2025 NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player after posting 30 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and 34 points against Auburn in the Final Four to power the Gators to the national championship game.
Clayton measured in at 6'2'' barefoot with a 6'4'' wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine, per Givony. But his clutch performances during the Gators' title run may have convinced scouts that his shooting will outweigh his size in his transition to the NBA.
The 2025 NBA draft is set to begin at Barclays Center in Brooklyn next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
