Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney has spent the entirety of the 2025-26 NBA season trying to make an impact despite not being a starter due to the addition of forward Michael Porter Jr. Clowney has also been adjusting to the role of being the backup power forward and the third center, but it seems like he has finally figured out how to make an impact.
“Just that we met earlier today [Monday] and the mindset was just to play hard and not think about all the other stuff. So, just that,” Clowney said following Monday’s 125-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With Porter out of the lineup due to personal reasons, someone had to step into the starting lineup and produce, a challenge that Clowney met head on.
“I think we played hard. I think in the fourth, they made shots [and] we didn’t. That’s the reality. A lot of transition stuff, we could avoid it, but we played a lot better. We look like a team today,” Clowney said when discussing Brooklyn’s effort against Minnesota. The Nets still lost by 19 points, but Brooklyn hung around with the Timberwolves until the fourth quarter when the talent disparity between the teams began to show.
Clowney played 31 minutes in the contest and finished with an impressive line of 15 points, six rebounds, and two steals while shooting 5-of-14 from the field and 4-of-12 from three-point land. Despite the fact that Clowney is playing virtually the same amount of minutes this season that he played last season, his numbers are down across the board, including his overall shooting percentages.
Coming into this season, the Nets announced that Clowney would be listed on the roster as a forward and a center, implying that the team is hoping to see him in a role similar to what he did against Minnesota. Assuming that Porter will be available to play Wednesday at the Indiana Pacers, Clowney could find himself in a position where he will have to figure out how to make his impact in fewer minutes.