For the second year in a row, the upcoming NBA draft will operate under a two-day format, with the opening round of the draft taking place on Wednesday and the second round being held on Thursday.
Fans of the [Miami Heat](https://heatnation.com/) have reason to be more interested in tuning in on Wednesday, as the Heat have just one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and that’s the No. 20 overall selection of the first round.
With the first round of the draft just hours away at this juncture, a report from NBA insider Jake Fischer indicates that “many rival teams” around the league have the Heat drafting University of Florida product Walter Clayton Jr. with the No. 20 overall pick.
> “I believe Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. has multiple suitors in the early 20s,” Fischer [wrote](https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-jake-fischer-latest-what-i-believe). “Many rival teams have slotted Clayton to Miami at No. 20 itself … while there is also no shortage of league insiders who think Clayton and Michigan State guard Jase Richardson are two of the targets for Sacramento in the event that the Kings — as we’ve been reporting since mid-June — succeed in their long-running quest to acquire a first-round pick in the 20s.”
Unlike some of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA Draft, Clayton wasn’t a one-and-done collegiate player. In fact, he spent four seasons playing basketball at the collegiate level, including his last two seasons with the Gators program.
Clayton is an example of someone who benefitted from carving out a long career in college, as he grew from just a solid backup guard as a freshman to an All-American as a senior.
The 22-year-old was an elite guard in the 2024-25 campaign for a Gators squad that went on to win the national title. He averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest in 39 starts last season.
Clayton could be an appealing draft target for the Heat in part because of his experience, and Miami has shown a willingness to draft players with more than one season of college basketball under their belts.
For example, Miami used the No. 15 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on big man Kel’el Ware after he spent two seasons at the collegiate level. Moreover, Miami utilized a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. following his four-season stint at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Only time will tell if the Heat will continue their status quo of taking chances on older and more seasoned prospects in the draft, but Clayton could very well end up with Miami.