‘Bits And Pieces’: Walter Clayton Jr. Reveals How Kyrie Irving Is Mentoring Him With Dallas Mavericks

DALLAS — Walter Clayton Jr. has been getting his lessons from Kyrie Irving a little at a time since joining the Dallas Mavericks, the guard said after Monday night’s 115-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Irving sat out Monday with what the team listed as left knee injury management. Clayton, who signed a two-way contract with Dallas on Oct. 21, came off the bench and matched his career high with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three.

The main thing Irving stresses, according to Clayton, is not getting down on himself after a mistake.

“Just a lot, just from a day-to-day standpoint. How he takes care of himself, how he works, and then the mental aspect, too,” Clayton said. “I think he’s been giving me, like, little, he don’t want to throw everything at me at one time. So he’s been giving me, like, little bits and pieces day by day. So it’s definitely great having him, and I’ve been learning a lot.”

Irving, 34, was the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and won a championship with Cleveland in 2016. Before Monday, he had averaged 21.4 points and 4.8 assists in five games this season.

Clayton played at Iona and Florida, where he won a national championship in 2025. In his first five games with Dallas, he averaged 4.2 points in 11.2 minutes.

Walter Clayton Jr. Scores 20 With Kyrie Irving Sidelined

Clayton’s 25-footer with 42.9 seconds left in the first quarter was the Mavericks’ first made 3-pointer after 10 misses to open the game. He started the second half in place of Max Christie, who left in the second quarter with a right hip injury.

After a short third-quarter stint, Clayton checked back in with 8:14 to play and Dallas trailing 91-79. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-4 shooting from deep, and his step-back 3 with 1:29 left was his fourth of the night.

He became the second Maverick this season to score at least 20 points off the bench, joining Sergio De Larrea, who had 21 against San Antonio on Oct. 24. De Larrea sat Monday with a right knee sprain.

Center Daniel Gafford believes Clayton is still on the way up and producing the way he wants to. Irving is part of that, in Gafford’s view.

“From what I’ve seen, I’ve been a fan of Walt’s game ever since he was at Florida. And just seeing the things that he’s done in a couple of games that he’s actually had good stints,” Gafford said. “He’s a good shooter. He attacks the basket. He facilitates. He communicates with us. He finds ways to show how he’s a true point guard.”

“So it’s just, like I said with Morez, sky’s the limit for him, too, because he’s a steady build, and he’s producing, and he’s progressing like how he wants to,” Gafford continued. “And he got a great guard in his ear, Kyrie Irving, that’s giving him, I’m pretty sure, tips and pointers on just how to be good in his game.”

Irving Preaches A Next-Play Mentality

During games, Irving gets in Clayton’s ear about specific reads, such as when to reject a screen.

“Just seeing the game, there might be a point where he feels like I could have rejected a screen. He’ll just get in my ear, let me know about that,” Clayton explained. “And then the main thing really is just don’t get down on myself. Whenever something bad happens, move on to the next play. He’s big on next-play mentality. So that’s something he’s been preaching to me a lot.”

Dallas’ backcourt was without De Larrea all night and without Christie after the first half. Clayton will be whatever the team needs on a given night, he said.

“Just I’m willing to adapt to kind of whatever the team needs me to be on whatever night it is, whether that’s with the ball in my hands or without the ball in my hands,” Clayton said. “So just trying to be a team player, do whatever the team needs to win games.”

Answering an opponent’s run is one area where Irving helps, according to Mavericks coach Dusty May.

“He does so much for us in making big shots and calming us down. We haven’t been able to answer runs very well. That’s one area that he does,” May said. “But when one of your guys is out and another one just has an off night, you just, you got to have some other guys step up, and making shots is part of that. And they just didn’t drop tonight.”

Dallas had not announced Irving’s status for Wednesday’s game at the San Antonio Spurs as of Monday night. Tip-off at Frost Bank Center is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.