Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and spent his first professional season as a two-way contract player with the Miami Heat and their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
He was a Parade All-American as a high school senior at Chandler Park Academy in 2013. He was the Michigan Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year, and the runner-up for the Mr. Basketball of Michigan award. He was a 2013–14 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season All-Freshman selection in the Big Ten for the 2013–14 team, which won the Big Ten Conference regular-season championship outright. He was a 2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season All-Big Ten third-team selection by the coaches, and an honorable mention selection by the media as a junior. He was a 2016–17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season All-Big Ten second-team selection by the coaches and the media as a senior. Walton is the only Wolverine with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists, and he holds the school's single-game assist record (16). He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament for the tournament champion 2016–17 Wolverines.
Walton opened the season with a career-high 22 points against Hillsdale College on November 15. On November 29, he was sidelined with an undetermined toe injury against Nicholls State. On December 9, Walton set a career high with 4 steals in a loss against Eastern Michigan. On December 22, Walton posted a career high of 9 assists against Coppin State. In the January 17 win vs. Northwestern, Walton made a career-high four three-point field goals. On January 20 against Rutgers in the first game after Caris LeVert (the team's leader in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and minutes) was lost for the season, Walton scored a team-high 12 points, including 10 as Michigan rallied from a 42–37 deficit to assume a 52–44 lead with just 32.5 seconds left. The 10 points included two three-pointers that tied the score at 42 and gave Michigan a 45–42 lead and 4 free throws in the final minute. On January 24, Walton scored a team-high 17 points and hit a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds to go against (AP #6/Coaches #5) Wisconsin to tie the game and send it to overtime, but Michigan eventually lost. On January 27, Walton was removed from the lineup prior to the game due to a sore toe as Michigan defeated Nebraska. He then missed the final 12 games of the season due to the toe injury.
Prior to the 2017 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, Walton incurred Surgical suture in his right leg for injuries sustained in an airplane accident on the way to the tournament. In the March 11 semifinal of the Big Ten tournament against Minnesota, Walton posted a career-high 29 points including a perfect 10-for-10 on his free throws as well as a game-high 9 assists to lead Michigan to an 84–77 victory. It was only the fourth time someone had made at least 10 free throws without a miss in a Big Ten tournament game. In the championship game 71–56 victory over (#23/#24) Wisconsin, Walton posted 22 points for eighth-seeded Michigan. During the Big Ten tournament, Walton averaged 20.5 points, 6.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 22-for-23 from the free throw line. After the tournament, he was named Big Ten tournament Most Outstanding Player.
In the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Walton posted 26 points and 11 assists in a 92–91 victory over Oklahoma State. It marked the first time a player had had either at least 11 assists and 24 points or at least 25 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds in an NCAA Division I tournament game since Dwyane Wade in 2003. The team reached the sweet sixteen round of the tournament. Walton was included on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All‐District 7 second-team on March 22. His 98 three-point shots made led the Big Ten Conference. Walton finished second in minutes played (34.8), free throw percentage (87.6%) and assists/turnover ratio (2.9) in the Big Ten for the season. He finished his career second in career free throw percentage (83.67%), third in career games started (126) fourth in career assists (499) and fourth in career three-point field goals made (233) in school history. He was selected to participate as a 3-Point Championship contestant in the March 30 State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships as part of the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four weekend. Walton finished third out of eight. Following the season, Walton was named team MVP. On April 30, 2017, Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported that he was named as an alternate to the NBA Draft Combine. Ultimately, Walton was invited to attend the combine.
With Dion Waiters absent and Rodney McGruder sidelined, Walton was active on November 6 against the Golden State Warriors, when he made his NBA debut, posting one defensive rebound in one minute of play. Walton converted 2 free throws on November 19 against the Indiana Pacers, and he posted his first NBA field goal (a three-point shot) on December 18 against the Atlanta Hawks.
On January 5, 2018, Walton was sidelined with an illness. Over the course of the season, Walton appeared in 16 games with the Heat.
In late June 2018, the Heat made Walton a restricted free agent by extended Walton a qualifying offer that they could withdraw at any point up to July 13.
On October 18, Žalgiris Kaunas announced that they signed a contract with Walton until the end of the 2018–19 season. On February 12, 2019, Walton, whose playing time had started declining since December, left Žalgiris by terminating his deal with mutual agreement. He averaged 8.4 points and 4.4 assists in the LKL, and 4.6 points and 2.5 assists in the Euroleague.
Walton remained deep on the Clippers bench early in the season as the team used Jerome Robinson and Terance Mann in the backup point guard role. On December 8, with JaMychal Green hobbled and Patrick Patterson, Rodney McGruder and Landry Shamet sidelined Walton played his first meaningful minutes, posting a career-high 7 points and contributing to a win against the Washington Wizards. On December 31 (New Year's Eve), he posted his first double-digit scoring effort (10 points on 4-of-5 shooting) against the Sacramento Kings. On January 4, 2020, with Paul George joining Patrick Beverley on the sidelines, Walton made his first NBA start against the Memphis Grizzlies.
On February 6, 2020, Walton was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a protected 2022 second-round draft pick. He was waived immediately by the Hawks.
On December 25, 2021, Walton signed a 10-day contract with the Pistons. On January 1, 2022, he delivered a game-winning assist in overtime against the San Antonio Spurs that went between the defender's (Jakob Pöltl) legs to Saddiq Bey. During the game he posted six assists as well as NBA career highs in points (11), rebounds (6) and steals (4).
On January 4, 2022, Walton returned to the Motor City Cruise for the rest of the season. On January 5, he posted his first G League triple-double as well as the first in the history of the Motor City Cruise franchise with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a G League career-high 16 assists. Walton led the G League in assists for the 2021–22 season with a 9.5-assist-per-game average.
Sydney Kings (2022–2023)
Zhejiang Lions (2023–2024)
South East Melbourne Phoenix (2024–2025)
NBA career statistics
Regular season
See also
External links
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