Exclusive: No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler reacts to joining Clippers, playing with Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The basketball gods and lottery balls were on the LA Clippers ' side as the NBA Draft Lottery presented the franchise with an opportunity to take one of the top prospects in this year's stellar class. On Tuesday night, the Clippers selected Illinois guard 19-year old Keaton Wagler with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Armed with the fifth pick, the Clippers had their choice of player in the second tier of young stars behind AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer , and Caleb Wilson. At six-foot-six, Wagler presented the Clippers with size, three-level scoring ability, and playmaking that was hard to pass on when it came time to make their pick.
Keaton Wagler, who hails from Shawnee, Kansas, only had two high-major offers coming out of high school before he chose to go to Illinois. Despite winning two 6A state championships and was being named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, no one really knew who he was or what he was fully capable of. But he did.
Ten months later, that same player skyrocketed across every team's draft boards to the point where he canceled workouts with teams at No. 6 and beyond. That doesn't happen without a strong work ethic and a relentless inner motivation to succeed.
"It's just the hard work that I put in, and not worrying about the rankings or anything like that," Keaton Wagler told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview after he was selected fifth overall by the LA Clippers. "I found the right situation for me. And just took advantage of it. And just displayed how good of a player I can be. And just worked hard every single day."
Given his size and skillset, Wagler is an intriguing prospect for the Clippers. He's fully capable of playing both on the ball and off the ball, he was a low turnover guard despite handling the ball with a significant workload in his freshman season (1.8 turnovers per game in 33.9 minutes a night), and he shot the ball extremely well — 44.5 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from three.
Wagler tells ClutchPoints he believes his playmaking and his basketball IQ are two of his best attributes that he can immediately bring to the Clippers.
"I think my vision, my passing. I feel like people underrate that about me, like how I see the floor. I feel like I see it different than other people. I can process the game a lot faster.
"I also think it's just my IQ and just staying under control. I don't really get sped up. That's a big seal of mine is that when I get pressured, I don't really fold. I handle the ball and I make the right play."
Clippers' President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank praised Keaton Wagler at his media availability Tuesday night and broke down what made him the right pick for the franchise.
"Before we even get to the skill on the court, we wanted to make sure we drafted someone who is obsessed with winning above all else, someone who's extremely hungry and driven to improve, someone who embodies the work ethic, the resilience, the dedication of everybody who works with the Clippers. With Keaton — from a basketball quality standpoint — we put a big premium on positional size. Keaton can play both on and off the ball. He can play two positions. Then, skill, guys who can dribble, pass, and shoot. He can do all three at a very, very high level. And then I think the thing that a couple things that separate Keaton that make him special, his basketball IQ. IQ, feel, and craftiness. There's a lot when people talk about players now processing speed, and Keaton very much has a very, very quick processor. You can see that with his decision making both on offense and on defense."
In his freshman season with the Illinois Fighting Illini, Keaton Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 rebound a night. In the highest scoring game of his college career, Wagler dropped 46 points in a January victory over Purdue. Named an AP All-American, Wagler led his team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament averaging 18 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on the biggest stages in college basketball.
He may not be the biggest, strongest, or most athletic player in this NBA Draft class, but Wagler plays like a guard whose fully comfortable with not being that type of player. Instead, he fully embraces what his best attributes are and knows how to be most effective for his team.
That's what makes him a perfect fit for this LA Clippers team retooling around Kawhi Leonard and recently acquired guard Darius Garland .
"I'd probably say I'm a point guard and combo guard," Keaton Wagler explained. "I can play both positions, really. I think that's why I'm going to fit in really well with the Clippers. Being able to play alongside Garland will be great. For me to be off the ball and ready to shoot, I feel like I'm a really good shooter. And then just when he's off the ball, having the ball in my hands, being ready to make plays for myself and others."
"My versatility is a big strength. Like I said, being able to play all over the floor, I know that they're going to have the ball in their hands a lot and I'm fine with that. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win games and whether that's me having the ball or not, I'm ready to get my role and know what to do."
Alex Martin/Greenville News
Already a great scorer, shooter, and playmaker, Wagler says there are a couple areas of the game he wants to master
"I think obviously shooting. I feel like that's got to be something that I want to feel like I've mastered. But other than that, just as a playmaker, just being able to read ball screens and defenses, I just want to be able to master that so I can be ready for any coverage."
Keaton Wagler met with the LA Clippers during the pre-draft process and stayed in Los Angeles for three days to work out, meet front office members, and get the lay of the land of his new potential home.
"I met with most of the front office and a lot of the trainers," Wagler told ClutchPoints. "I was around a lot of people. I was there for three days, so I built good relationships with them. But some of the players that were there were [Darius] Garland, Bradley Beal . There were some others too, but I said what's up to them and they watched the workout.
"They were just super genuine with me and they just showed a lot of interest in me. They talked to me and my agents a lot. I think I'm just super excited to get out there. They have a great front office and coaching staff and players, and I just can't wait to get out there and get going.
"I think just how I showed myself and proved myself in those both workouts. I feel like I did really good in both [the Clippers and Bulls workouts]. Throughout the whole process, talking with the Clippers, they seemed really interested. And I told teams if they wanted to come out and see me in person where I'm at, you can, but I don't have to go anywhere else to show my capabilities."
He knew there was a good chance they would be picking him with the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft, but there were also a lot of smokescreens out there in the weeks leading up to draft night. There was a point where the Clippers were reportedly heavily in trade talks trying to trade out of that pick. Others claimed they really liked Mikel Brown Jr. in the final days before the draft.
Wagler went into Draft night with an open mind, but knew where he wanted to go.
"I was hoping it would be them. I had really good conversations with them when I went out there, but when I fully knew was when all the cameras kind of surrounded me at the table and my agent kind of gave me a little wink. I fully knew like a minute before the pick was in, but you can never be too sure until your name gets called."
Keaton Wagler will officially be introduced as a member of the LA Clippers on Wednesday afternoon inside Intuit Dome, and the plan is for the guard to play in the Las Vegas Summer League next month.
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