In an up-and-down season for the Trail Blazers, Donovan Clingan has been one of the few ceaseless beacons of brightness. Outside of Deni Avdija, he's arguably been Portland's second most impactful player. His shot blocking and rebounding are the biggest reasons for that, but Clingan has also made leaps and bounds as a shooter, an unexpected development that's raising his ceiling.
Clingan wasn’t supposed to be making threes. Yet, here he is, making threes. Sure, scouts spread rumors of his shooting potential before the 2024 draft, but they do that for any big man with any semblance of touch and feel to their games.
Donovan Clingan is on track to become a real three-point shooter
People are so obsessed with stretch fives that they tend to forget how few stretch fives there actually are. Clingan is on track to become one of those highly coveted unicorns. This season, he's attempting 3.1 threes per contest and making one of them, good for a 32.8% success rate. He's also shooting 66.9% from the free-throw line (charity stripe efficiency is usually a strong indicator for overall shooting ability).
You may have read those stats and thought, "man, those don't really look that good," and if you did, you're right! Clingan is not a good shooter right now. Defenses are still content leaving him space to let it fly, and that's the most important indicator of a player's shooting capability. But the present doesn't really matter with Clingan's shooting. It's all about the future.
What Clingan is doing by lobbing up three clunky set-shot threes per game is getting reps in. He’s building confidence, finding his stroke, and it will probably pay off. Some guys, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, just clearly cannot shoot for whatever reason, but Clingan isn't one of them.
Clingan has connected on multiple triples in 19 games this season. Dudes with no touch can’t do that. Slowly, but surely, he’s establishing the foundation of a jumper that defenses should fear. If he builds on that base, he is going to be a star.
Three-point shooting would swing the door open for Clingan’s star potential
Clingan is already looking like a future stud. That would be true even if he had zero jumpshot. After all, he’s an all-world shot blocker, rebounder, and screener with game-breaking defensive potential.
However, if he’s able to make himself a respected threat from beyond the arc, that would not only boost his floor but also heighten his ceiling as a player. This is a sizable if, but if he can shoot, say, 38% from three on five attempts per game (similar to prime Myles Turner) one day, then he’ll provide a rare combination of shooting and rim protection.
The best players in the world are all anomalies for one reason or another. An anomaly is exactly what Clingan would become by adding a three-point shot.