Donovan Clingan\u2019s rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers left many watchers with questions about his long-term impact on the NBA. Despite his size and skill, doubts were consistent about his ability to play starting-level minutes and contribute on the offensive end of the ball.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, he addressed those two concerns pretty early on in his sophomore season. The 22-year-old is currently considered an above-average starting center. With four games left in the Trail Blazers season, he leads the league in offensive rebounds at 4.5 a game. He\u2019s third in total rebounds with 11.6 a contest and fifth in blocks with 1.7 a game.<\/p>\n
The two-time UConn champion was taken by the Blazers with the seventh pick in 2024, a draft class considered by many as one of the more modest in recent memory. The Rookie of the Year chosen from that class was Clingan\u2019s UConn teammate and current San Antonio Spurs guard-wing Stephon Castle.<\/p>\n
Castle was the obvious winner after one campaign but others may still end up being the better player when all is said and done. Today, I want to discuss three names who are in line for top honors. Along with Clingan, there\u2019s the aforementioned Castle and Washington Wizards big Alex Sarr.<\/p>\n
I dithered over the Miami Heat\u2019s Kel\u2019el Ware, Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls, and Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets, but they\u2019re probably not in the same class.<\/p>\n
Deciding on the best player is hardly scientific, especially when there\u2019s no standout candidate. My conclusions have been based on each player\u2019s skillset and importance to their team. Predictions have also been made about any individual prizes they may win.<\/p>\n
Age: 22
Pick: 7
Position: Center (7\u20192 height, 7\u20197 wingspan)
25-26 stats: 73 games, 27.2 mins, 12.0 points, 32.7% 3pt, 52.0% FG, 11.6 boards, 2.1 assists, 1.7 blocks<\/p>\n
Clingan\u2019s sophomore leap has arguably exceeded most expectations. Central to this growth has been him getting his body right. He\u2019s a man mountain who can now move more freely, able to optimize his imposing size.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s an elite rim protector, altering opposing offenses with his large frame and defensive instincts. He\u2019s developed a three-point shot, can pass out of traffic, operate in the pick and roll and, as the stats suggest, he dominates the league in offensive rebounds.<\/p>\n
More than all this, that upward trajectory doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s slowing down any time soon. He looks comfortable and it doesn\u2019t hurt that he\u2019s a competitive beast, unafraid of contact.<\/p>\n
Clingan\u2019s one key weakness, exemplified in the Blazers win against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, is his struggles against centers who can space the floor like Brook Lopez. It\u2019s something he needs to address if he\u2019s going to round the rest of his game.<\/p>\n
If it wasn\u2019t for Victor Wembanyama, Clingan could have been in line for a couple of Defensive Player of the Year awards. He\u2019ll still make All-Defensive teams and depending on team success, could find his way onto an All-Star team or two.<\/p>\n
Age: 21
Pick: 4
Position: Guard (6\u20196 height, 6\u20199 wingspan)
25-26 stats: 65 games, 29.8 mins, 16.7 points, 33.2% 3PT, 47.2% FG, 5.2 boards, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals<\/p>\n
Castle operates on both sides of the ball and guards positions one through three. He stands 6\u20196 with a 6\u20199 wingspan, boasting point guard skills, helping him and the Spurs put forward a versatile defensive beast.<\/p>\n
With Wembanyama as a teammate, Castle will never be the most important player on his team. He may not be the second and third best with De\u2019Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper on board but Castle\u2019s two-way versatility makes him a high-level role player, able to adapt to a range of configurations.<\/p>\n
The former Rookie of the Year will earn himself an All-Star honor and may also take an All-Defensive Second Team prize, especially if the Spurs go onto win a title or two.<\/p>\n
Age: 20
Pick: 2
Position: Center (7\u20190 height, 7\u20195 wingspan)
25-26 stats: 48 games, 27.2 mins, 16.3 points, 33.3% 3pt, 48.2% FG, 7.4 boards, 2.7 assists, 2.0 blocks<\/p>\n
If you can believe it, both Sarr and Clingan have averaged 27.2 minutes a game this year, helping us with our comparisons. I was keen on Sarr going into the draft and would have been thrilled if the Blazers landed him. With his unique blend of rim protection, defense and three-point shooting, he was a lock to be an above-average big.<\/p>\n
While he hasn\u2019t disappointed, Clingan\u2019s size and ability to pull down rebounds gives him the edge on Sarr. Deciding on his importance to the Wizards is still a bit murky, given the rebuilding status of the DC squad. But if Anthony Davis can stay healthy, Washington may boast the league\u2019s most formidable defensive frontline anywhere.<\/p>\n
Sarr seems destined for All-Defensive Team status but is slightly less likely than Clingan to make the final day of the All-Star program, if only for the fact that he won\u2019t necessarily put up huge counting stats.<\/p>\n
The 2024 NBA Draft wasn\u2019t filled with franchise-changing star-studded talent. But that doesn\u2019t mean one or two stars won\u2019t appear. Five years from now, Clingan could very well be one of those two standouts from the 2024 class. His closest competition with likely be the Spurs\u2019 Stephon Castle and the Wizards\u2019 Alex Sarr.<\/p>\n
Clingan and Sarr probably earn a few All-Defensive Team honors, maybe contend for Defensive Player of the Year titles alongside Victor Wembanyama. They might also earn a couple of All-Star trips. I might be biased but the 7\u20192 Clingan has the size over 7\u20190 Sarr and has the offensive game and the competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
As for the UConn teammates, Clingan has a bigger influence on the success of this Blazers team when comparing Castle on the Spurs. Whether that makes Clingan the better player is also subjective, but as of right now, the center might have the edge over his former college teammate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donovan Clingan\u2019s rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers left many watchers with questions about his long-term impact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3784],"tags":[7,601,37787,6,687,471,3967,1617],"class_list":{"0":"post-698460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-portland-trail-blazers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers","10":"tag-blazers-analysis","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-portland","13":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","14":"tag-portlandtrailblazers","15":"tag-trail-blazers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116348541175227557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}