Gators in the NBA: Previewing the 2025-26 Season
The NBA is back.
With the season tipping off, many former Florida stars will grace NBA courts this year, including a trio from last year’s national championship team. From faces who donned the orange and blue more than 20 years ago to some wearing the threads last season, there are many Gators in the league.
Let’s see where they are all at:
Nine former Gators are in the NBA currently — including Andrew Nembhard, who transferred out after his sophomore year. Three of them joined the league this year.
Walter Clayton Jr. was selected with the 20th pick in the NBA draft by the Utah Jazz as they jumped up to get him. He showed out in the summer league and in four preseason games, progressing with each contest. Over the course of the summer league through four games, he averaged 13.5 points per game, just under five assists per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and shot just under 38% from 3.
His growth is transferring into the preseason as well. Since Clayton’s slow start against Houston in his first preseason game, he’s continued to show flashes not in his scoring, but in his facilitating ability. Through four preseason games, he averaged 10.8 points, five assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The sole area Clayton has struggled with in his four games was one of his strengths coming out of college: his 3-point shooting. Through four preseason games, he is 4 for 22 — just over 18% — from 3 and has attempted around six per game.
Others from Florida’s national championship team, Alijah Martin and Will Richard, have also seen time during the preseason.
The Toronto Raptors selected Martin in the second round. He started in the summer league, where in five games, he averaged 8.8 points, three rebounds and over 1.5 steals per game. He’s seen limited playing time so far in the preseason, but through four games, he’s averaging four points and over two rebounds per game.
The last of the three is Richard, who quietly broke out in the preseason with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors drafted him in the second round, not expecting much, but he has been a surprise. He averaged 11.5 points, just over four rebounds, 1.5 assists and nearly two steals per game during summer league play. His successful summer league stint also helped jump-start his preseason. In five games on Golden State’s preseason squad, he’s averaged 8.6 points, three rebounds, just under two assists and 1.5 steals per game. He had 13 points in each of his last two preseason games and has been a force on defense.
Another former Gator on the Warrriors is Al Horford. He signed with Golden State this offseason on a two-year, $11.7 million deal after winning a championship with the Boston Celtics. The journeyman started his career with the Atlanta Hawks after they drafted him third overall. The four-time All-Star then went to Boston in 2016.
He then traveled to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019, ventured to Oklahoma City for the 2020 season and then back to Boston. He was a consistent contributor with the Celtics. Horford averaged nine points, just over six rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. The Warriors are hoping the 39-year-old forward has some gas left in the tank and will be a key veteran in their lineup.
Another former Florida big, Colin Castleton, recently signed a two-way contract with the Orlando Magic. Castleton is another name Gators’ fans should know, as he was one of the highlights of Todd Golden’s first year at UF.
After his senior campaign in 2023, he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers. Since then, he has bounced around the NBA and the G-League. The Lakers cut him in 2024 and then signed a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. But early in 2025, they cut him and he signed two 10-day contracts with the Toronto Raptors.
After that, he signed with the 76ers before a multi-year contract with the Raptors again. However, three months after he inked that extension, Toronto waived him.
With Orlando, he has played two games in the preseason, averaging 5.5 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game. He will start the season in the G-League with the Osceola Magic.
Bradley Beal joined a new team in the offseason. Phoenix traded for the longtime Washington Wizard in 2023, and the Suns waived him earlier in the offseason. Two days after the waving, he signed a multi-year deal with the L.A. Clippers.
While on the Wizards, Beal was a scoring threat. But he had to carry the offense. However, when Phoenix traded for him, many expected him to fit seamlessly into the Suns’ offense beside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, taking a less centralized role. Still, the experiment failed when Minnesota swept the Suns in the 2024 Playoffs and Phoenix missed the postseason in 2025.
Many attributed missing the playoffs to Beal, as he averaged only 17 points per game — the lowest clip of his career since his third year. He’s looking to turn back the clock with the Clippers.
Dorian Finney-Smith also joined a new team in the offseason. He’s been a journeyman as of late, but has spent the majority of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
The 32-year-old small forward has been a role player for most of his career. He started with six years in Dallas before being traded midseason to the Brooklyn Nets. He spent two years there before the Nets traded him during the season to the Lakers. He’s now amid a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets and is coming off ankle surgery during the offseason. While he has no schedule for his return, he has been working out with the team.
Tre Mann is the final Gator on an NBA roster. The Oklahoma City Thunder drafted him 18th in 2021, and he was solid in his first few seasons. But the Thunder traded him at the deadline in 2023 to the Charlotte Hornets in the Gordon Hayward trade, where he has spent the rest of his career.
Last season, he provided solid scoring in 13 contests with 14.1 points per game. He was a free agent this offseason, but re-signed with the Hornets on a three-year, $24 million deal.
He has also seen some action in the preseason. In three games, he averaged 8.3 points, including an 18-point outing against his former team.
With the NBA tipping off Tuesday with two games, you could see some former Gators in both. While Finney-Smith hasn’t been cleared yet, his Houston Rockets take on the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder at 7:30 p.m. in a matchup of two prospective Western Conference contenders. For the nightcap, you can see Horford and Richard with the Warriors taking on the Lakers at 10 p.m.
Category: Basketball, Former Gators, NBA
