"Stealing the spotlight", "So jealous right now": College hoops fans react as Walter Clayton Jr. crosses paths with Tim Tebow during White House visit

Now former Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. is steadily ramping up this offseason in his vie for the NBA. The spitfire scorer just finished his tenure at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, which was held from May 11 to 18, as he now looks to hear his name called in the draft on June 25 to 26.

On Wednesday, May 21, the Gators, fresh from their 2025 NCAA national championship berth, made their official visit to the White House. Among the highlights of the visit was when Clayton Jr. crossed paths with former NFL player and Florida football legend Tim Tebow in the process. They were captured together by @gatorsszn on X.

Several users all over X were not too keen on seeing Clayton Jr. link up with Tebow in the White House for various reasons.

College basketball fans and spectators, especially the Gators faithful, were happy to see two of some of their program's best athletes cross paths in the visit.

In his four-year collegiate basketball tenure, the last two being with coach Todd Golden's Gators, Clayton Jr. averaged 15.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.

Walter Clayton Jr. is projected to be the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

Per ESPN and several media outlets, Walter Clayton Jr. is projected to be selected in this year's NBA Draft with the No. 25 overall pick in the first round by the Orlando Magic. The Magic picked up the selection through the Denver Nuggets when they traded veteran standout Aaron Gordon to Denver back in 2021. In need of backcourt scoring, Orlando might elect to select Clayton Jr. due to his skillset.

This means that Clayton Jr. is projected to be joining a Magic team that is coached by Jamahl Mosley. Led by NBA All-Star Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Orlando finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 41-41 record, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference. Winning their Play-In Tournament matchups, they were then defeated by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, 4-1.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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