Walter Clayton Jr.
Age 23 · 6'2" · 195 lb
Pick #18, 2025 Draft · Rookie 2026 · 69 games
DPM · #489 of 530
-2.6Game by game
Seismograph
DARKO updates every rating after every game. The lines show the rating going into each game; the bars show how much each game moved it, split into offense and defense.
- Season change
- -0.17
- -2.46 before the first game, -2.63 at the end
- Biggest boost
- +0.68
- Oct 22 vs LAC · 18 min
- Biggest drop
- -0.51
- Mar 25 vs SAS · 22 min
- Typical change per game
- 0.20
- Last 20 games, vs 0.19 in the first 20. Smaller changes mean each game moves DARKO's view less.
Historical comps
Comps & futures
The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.
-2.6 at age 23 in 2025-26 ranks 983rd of 1,100 age-23 seasons since 1996-97. Closest match: Cassius Winston, 2020-21.
| Comp | Age | DPM then | Next 5 seasons | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassius Winston 2020-21 | 23 | -3.0 | under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 91 |
| Isaiah Taylor 2017-18 | 23 | -2.8 | under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 90 |
| Anthony Johnson 1997-98 | 23 | -2.7 | -3.1, -3.3, -3.4, -1.5, -1.8 | 90 |
| Steve Nash 1996-97 | 23 | -2.4 | +0.3, -0.8, -0.3, +2.2, +2.2 | 90 |
| Ray McCallum 2013-14 | 22 | -2.7 | -2.5, -2.5, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 90 |
| J.J. Barea 2006-07 | 22 | -2.5 | -1.2, -0.6, -1.0, +0.3, -0.1 | 89 |
| J.R. Bremer 2003-04 | 23 | -2.9 | under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 88 |
| William Avery 2001-02 | 22 | -2.9 | under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 88 |
| Joe Young 2015-16 | 23 | -2.0 | -2.0, -2.8, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 88 |
| Lorenzo Brown 2013-14 | 23 | -2.4 | -1.4, under 10 games, under 10 games, -1.2, -2.7 | 88 |
The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to Walter's 2025-26 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.
Value
Contract & longevity
DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against Walter Clayton Jr.'s salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.
- Fair value
- -$5.4M
- DARKO's market estimate
- Salary
- $4.0M
- Actual
- Surplus
- -$9.4M
- Value minus salary
- Seasons left
- 5.7
- Projected
- Retires at
- 28.8
- Projected age
Career
Season by season
DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.
| Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | DPM | Off | Def | For his age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | MEM | 23 | 69 | 20.4 | -2.63 | -1.47 | -1.16 | 983rd of 1100 |
Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.
Projections
Projected box score
DARKO's per-100 projections, and per game at 31.6 projected minutes and a pace of 97.1.
| Stat | Per 100 | Per game |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 21.2 | 13.6 |
| Rebounds | 4.3 | 2.7 |
| Offensive | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Defensive | 3.2 | 2.1 |
| Assists | 9.6 | 6.2 |
| Steals | 1.7 | 1.1 |
| Blocks | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Turnovers | 4.3 | 2.8 |
| 3-pt attempts | 8.0 | 5.1 |
| FG attempts | 19.0 | 12.1 |
| FT attempts | 4.2 | 2.7 |
| FG% · 3P% · FT% | 39.2% · 32.7% · 85.3% | |