Did the Heat Miss Out on the Next Steph Curry?
The pick is in -- and it came as quite a surprise to fans around the NBA world.
On Wednesday night at the 2025 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Washington Wizards swooped in for a decorated, dazzling sharpshooter whose championship grit earned him increasingly feverish comparisons to a different member of the Warriors: Stephen Curry.
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You know, the single greatest shooter of all time.
Then, a trade flew in out of nowhere. The Wiz were actually sending this particular hot-handed star to the Utah Jazz.
The only problem?
All the late momentum had reportedly pointed directly toward the Miami Heat.
When the dust had settled, Walter Clayton Jr. of the national champion Florida Gators was the next member of the Utah Jazz.
Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. drives on Houston Cougars guard Mylik Wilson in the championship of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four in San Antonio, Texas© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
When it was Miami's turn to select at No. 20, they opted for Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionus. To be totally fair, it was widely considered a surprise to see him still available in the back end of Round 1.
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With every decision comes a handful of opportunity costs, however.
Clayton came up in Lake Wales, Florida before ultimately achieving superstar status under coach Todd Golden in Gainesville. Able to play both guard positions, he averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists on 44.8% shooting as a senior playing primarily as a point guard.
Erik Spoelstra's Heat, in addition to playing ball just three hours southeast of Clayton's hometown, ranked near the bottom of the NBA with barely 110 points per contest last season. They snuck into the 2024-25 NBA Playoffs with the 10th and final seed in the East, crashing out via sweep against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
You'd have thought the man who increasingly drew comparisons to the inhumanly clutch Chef Curry would have been an ideal fit to help out the starring trio of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Andrew Wiggins in the scoring department.
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It simply was not to be.
Walter Clayton Jr. College Stats 2024-25
PPG: 18.3
RPG: 3.7
APG: 4.2
SPG: 1.2
BPG: 0.5
FG %: 44.8
3P %: 38.6
FT %: 87.5
2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player
2025 SEC Tournament MVP
2025 First Team All-American
2025 First Team All-SEC
2024 Second Team All-SEC
2023 MAAC Player of the Year
2023 First Team All-MAAC
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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