Florida Gators accomplish something in the NBA Draft they shockingly haven't done since their last National Championship

The Florida Gators won the National Championship in impressive fashion this past April when they beat the Houston Cougars 65-63.  That has translated to the NBA Draft this week, as the Gators have had three players taken. It's the first time since the famed draft of 2007 when the Gators had five players selected, including […]

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Apr 7, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) holds up the trophy after winning the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome.
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators won the National Championship in impressive fashion this past April when they beat the Houston Cougars 65-63. 

That has translated to the NBA Draft this week, as the Gators have had three players taken. It's the first time since the famed draft of 2007 when the Gators had five players selected, including three in the top nine. It was also the last time they won a national championship.

The three players were all in the backcourt, which was to be expected.

What's extra cool about the selections is that both Clayton and Richard were traded up for. All three will have a chance to be contributors early and often in the NBA.

While the 2025 Gators squad isn't up to par with the 2007 squad that won a second-consecutive national championship, having three seniors get drafted says a lot about the state of the program.

Head coach Todd Golden has been working hard to bring the Gators back to the level that Billy Donovan had them at in the mid-2000s with Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer. Now, unlike Donovan's squad, Golden got all three guys from the transfer portal, but the game is significantly different from it was back then. Golden identified players with high upside and built a champion.

It's also a great sign that program is much healthier on an overall level. After Donovan left, things took a turn downward. In fact, from 2014-2024, the Gators only had two players frafted, both of which came in 2021 in Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann. You could count Andrew Nebhard (2022) and Keyontae Johnson (2023) in that group if you want, but they didn't finish their career with the Gators.

With Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and Rueben Chinyelu coming back, they have a chance to spike that number higher next year.

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