A fresh start seems to be unlocking Walter Clayton Jr. again. In just his third game with the Dallas Mavericks, the former Florida guard looked far more like the player Gators fans remember, and Monday night’s showing against the Miami Heat was the clearest sign yet.
Clayton Jr. finished with a team-best plus/minus of +22 in 17 minutes during the win. He scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, hit both of his 3-point attempts, and added four assists, four rebounds and one block.
The shot-making came in all the familiar forms. Clayton Jr. carved up the Heat with floaters, midrange jumpers and catch-and-shoot 3s, showing the same scoring versatility he flashed in Gainesville.
His best stretch came in the fourth quarter, when the Mavericks coach opened the period with him on the floor and kept him there for the first eight minutes. During that run, Clayton Jr. scored seven points, blocked a shot, collected a rebound and handed out an assist. That stretch came during a 21-10 Dallas run that pushed the Mavericks ahead 104-97 with five minutes left.
He also delivered a couple of plays that looked straight out of his Florida tape. Clayton Jr. gave Dallas the lead with back-to-back crafty layups, including an old-fashioned three-point play that echoed what he did against Auburn in the Final Four.
Earlier in the game, he showed he could stretch the floor, knocking down both of his triples. Both came off the catch, with Clayton Jr. rising into the shot as soon as the pass arrived.
That scoring punch fits the profile he built in his final season with the Gators. Clayton Jr. set the school record for points in a single season with 713 in Florida’s national championship-winning run. He also finished 10th in program history with 210 made 3-pointers, including 117 in the 2024-25 season, the second-most in a single year by a Gator.
The passing has started to show up, too. Clayton Jr. has four assists in this game and now has nine over his last two outings with Dallas.
At Florida, he totaled 256 assists, the most by a Florida transfer. His top playmaking season came as a senior, when he finished with 163 assists, 70 more than he had as a freshman.
For Clayton Jr., the Mavericks are hoping this version sticks. After being selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz, traded to Memphis and cut before landing in Dallas, he now looks like a player who could build himself into a meaningful bench role if this aggression continues.
In Other News...
Florida Still Has A Guard Question Heading Into Miami
Boogie Flands absence for Floridas exhibition against Stetson gave the Gators an early look at how the backcourt might have to adapt if the starting point guard is unavailable. Denzel Aberdeen slid over to point guard, Urban Klavar moved into the starting lineup at shooting guard, and Florida still handled business in an 85-68 win, with Klavar and Aberdeen carrying much of the scoring load.
Even with the result in hand, the setup left the bigger question hanging as the Gators shift their attention to the regular-season opener against Miami. Todd Golden praised the way his team performed, but the illness that sidelined Fland added another layer to Floridas guard rotation picture, and the staff now has a short window to sort out how it wants the backcourt arranged when the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Florida-Georgia Just Lost The Rivalry Feeling Fans Loved Most
For the first time in 31 years, the Georgia-Florida game is leaving Jacksonville, with this years meeting set for Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta because of construction at EverBank Stadium. The setup changes more than the location on the schedule. It strips away the strange, enduring charm that made this rivalry weekend feel like its own holiday, from the old tailgating scenes to the beach gatherings that have long defined the trip for fans on both sides.
The move also comes with a 50-50 ticket split between the schools, and the matchup is already mapped out to land in Tampa in 2027 before returning to Jacksonville through 2031. Even with a path back to the river city, the rotation underscores how much is lost when Florida and Georgia are not meeting in the place that gave the rivalry its distinct personality, and it has plenty of fans and former players thinking about what used to make the weekend feel bigger than just another SEC game. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Best Shot Vs Georgia Comes Down To One Brutal Test
With Florida and Georgia heading into another rivalry meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the spotlight is on a familiar kind of uncertainty for the Gators: quarterback play. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy expects No. 3 Georgia to bounce back from its recent loss, while Florida is still sorting out its own answer under center, with Jon Sumrall yet to name a starter between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr. It is the kind of week where every practice rep matters and every hint from the coaches gets parsed for more than it probably should.
Georgias quarterback situation adds another layer, even if the Bulldogs appear to be in better shape overall. Kirby Smart said Gunner Stockton dealt with a shoulder stinger after the last game but did not show concussion symptoms, which at least eases one concern for a team trying to steady itself after a loss. For Florida, though, the bigger issue is simpler and more pressing: finding the quarterback who can handle the moment in a game where one rough stretch can quickly tilt the whole afternoon. [Read more 🡒]