Listed at 7-foot-2, 280 pounds, Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan is an absolute tank of a human being. Those physical tools translated from UConn to the NBA, where he made an immediate impact with his rim protection and rebounding in his rookie campaign.
He took another leap with a second-year breakout thanks to a combination of an increased role and improved conditioning level to keep up with it. Portland thankfully bought out polarizing center Deandre Ayton, promoting Clingan to a much-deserved starting role.
Clingan has already flourished in that new role, averaging a career-high 12.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks on 52/34/68 shooting splits. While the increased averages were to be expected following Ayton's departure, the 34.1 percent from three-point range on 3.2 attempts per game certainly wasn't.
Blazers were right to believe in Donovan Clingan's shooting potential
To put things into perspective, as a sophomore at UConn, Clingan had improved to 25 percent from beyond the arc on just 0.2 attempts per game. It's not like the sub-60 percent free-throw shooting gave reason to be optimistic that he had the touch to become a floor spacer in the NBA either.
Regardless, the Blazers front office was always adamant that Clignan, as a prospect entering the league, could eventually become a floor spacer -- a trait crucial for a center in the modern NBA. The eye test was certainly more promising than the numbers suggested at UConn, and Portland ultimately proved right to invest in the big man's floor-spacing potential.
Even just entering Year 3, it's reminiscent of how Brook Lopez's game developed to adapt to the modern NBA. He went from that back-to-the-basket big with a post game and soft touch with the Brooklyn Nets to a rim protector and floor spacer. That newfound player archetype is crucial for teams to have in the modern NBA, given the importance of shots both beyond the arc and at the rim.
Clingan clearly already has a positive impact as a defensive anchor. He's already in the conversation as a top five rim protector in the league at just age 22. At least one All-Defensive Team selection seems to be in Clingan's future, and that alone makes this a draft steal for Portland.
The real question now comes on the offensive end, both with how to use Clingan and Portland's offense as a whole. They now bring in Ja Morant, a guard who likes to get downhill. That could overlap with Deni Avdija's skillset, who has become more of a point-forward in Portland.
Clingan's evolving game as a floor spacer should at least help somewhat compensate for this never-ending floor spacing concern in Portland's rebuild. But the overlooked question is whether this all comes at the expense of Clingan, someone who has suddenly become a key building block for the Blazers?
Portland should double down on Clingan's strength as an offensive rebounder
As good as he is as a rim protector, Clingan's truly elite trait compared to bigs around the league could actually be his offensive rebounding ability. He finished tied for fourth with Evan Mobley in blocks per game (1.7). Offensive rebounds? 4.5 per game, behind only an injured duo of Steven Adams and Walker Kessler that combined for 36 games played.
In other words, Clingan enters the 2026-27 season as arguably the league's most dominant offensive rebounder.
New head coach Micah Nori has praised the team's analytically driven approach in his press conference, highlighting its strong shot profile. The problem? A shot profile doesn't really matter if you can't, you know, make the shots regardless.
As much as Clingan has impressively and even surprisingly improved as a three-point shooter in his sophomore breakout, the concern here is that his overreliance on the three-point shot comes at the expense of a seven-footer not fully playing to his elite strength as an offensive rebounder.
Portland had a clear three-point shooting problem last season. That issue isn't going to be solved with Damian Lillard's return, not when they willingly brought in Ja Morant to essentially counteract.
This team built its rebuilding identity on winning the possession battle. We've seen that with Toumani Camara leading the league in drawn charges, and it's also been apparent in Clingan's ability to both swat shots and keep the possession alive for Portland.
Clingan's breakout solidified his place as a key building block in this young core going forward. But he's also arguably the most important piece towards this team's entire rebuilding identity. Not just in terms of that overall defensive identity with his physicality and rim protection, etc., but also with their scheme as a team that makes up for their relative lack of star power by winning the possession battle.
The clanks should unfortunately continue in 2026-27, as Portland had a head-scratching offseason. That's even more reason to let Clingan stay in the paint and use his presence on the glass. There's no reason Clingan can't lead the league in offensive rebounds, and the Blazers need to do a better job of playing to that strength in Year 3.
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