The NBA recently announced that Portland Trail Blazers big man Donovan Clingan was named to the 2024-25 NBA All-Rookie Second Team. This leaves Chauncey Billups with only one option heading into next season: start Donovan Clingan, whether Deandre Ayton is still on the roster or not.
Those looking at stats will argue about whether or not Clingan was worthy of this coveted honor -- especially if you are a Utah Jazz fan, as their two rookies were the most notable snubs.
Clingan's numbers didn't jump off the page, as he averaged 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game. But he also didn't have as much of an opportunity compared to other rookies, averaging less than 20 minutes.
Donovan Clingan proved he is the Blazers’ best center
Clingan had elite per-36 stats. He was second in blocks (3.0) behind Victor Wembanyama and sixth in rebounds (14.3). Those numbers suggested what Trail Blazers fans were vying for throughout the season -- give him an increased role.
Clingan finally got that opportunity at the expense of Ayton's unfortunate left calf injury towards the end of the season. Not only did Clingan hold the fort down, but he was also the anchor to a Portland defense that ranked in the top ten in 2025.
In 37 games as a starter, he averaged 7.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. Clingan was simply the more impactful center for the Trail Blazers than Ayton.
Those stats don't even account for other areas in which Clingan has Ayton beat, including his screen setting, physicality, effort, and shot-contesting ability. Clingan held opponents to 49 percent at the rim, which is eerily similar to four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
After considering other factors such as age, contract, and draft capital investment, it's clear that Clingan is Portland's long-term answer at the center position. That makes Ayton expendable in a trade, which should be at least somewhat easier to get done now that he's on an expiring contract and can be used as a salary filler.
But there's still a solid chance that Ayton is on the Trail Blazers' roster heading into the 2025-26 season. Regardless, Billups needs to start with Clingan. Not doing so would be an obvious long-term setback as it's prolonging the inevitable. However, Clingan's immediate impact as a rookie also proves that it would hurt in the short term.
Clingan is the first Trail Blazers player to make an All-Rookie Team since Damian Lillard in 2013 when he also won Rookie of the Year. He joins Kel'el Ware, Matas Buzelis, Yves Missi, and Bub Carrington on the Second Team. Making the First Team were Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey, and the top two picks, Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr.
Here are the complete voting results:
For all the talk about how weak and uncertain the top picks were, this class is off to a promising start. If you had a top-ten pick, you had a 50 percent chance of drafting an All-Rookie player. The top ten picks not to make the cut were Reed Sheppard (No. 3), Ron Holland (No. 5), Tidjane Salaun (No. 6), Rob Dillingham (No. 8), and Cody Williams (No. 10).
There's plenty of other talent right after the top ten also, including Buzelis (our personal favorite player in the entire class), Carrington, Ware, and Jared McCain, who would have made an All-Rookie Team if not won the Rookie of the Year outright, had he remained healthy.
This class has no generational prospect, but it might be deeper than it was given credit for. And regardless, making an All-Rookie Team is no small feat. Portland landed a steal when Donovan Clingan fell to them, securing their future starting center.
This honor just confirmed what we already knew. Now it’s up to the Trail Blazers to fully cash in their chips by permanently increasing Clingan’s role.