Donovan Clingan's Summer League honor confirms draft steal for Blazers

The NBA announced the All-Summer League First Team and Second Team honors. Here are the results:

All-Summer League First Team

• GG Jackson II, Memphis Grizzlies

• Jordan Miller, Los Angeles Clippers

• Scotty Pippen Jr., Memphis Grizzlies

• Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets

• Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat

All-Summer League Second Team

• Bub Carrington, Washington Wizards

• Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

• Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat

• Jarace Walker, Indiana Pacers

• Jalen Wilson, Brooklyn Nets

Donovan Clingan's unprecedented Summer League

Donovan Clingan finished the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging the most rebounds per game at 12.3. Even more impressively, his 4.2 blocks per game were the most in the history of Summer League, surpassing "The Alien," Victor Wembanyama, who averaged four a game. The main appeal for Clingan as a draft prospect was his rebounding and rim-protecting abilities. He was even in consideration for the No. 1 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks because of these traits. He possesses elite size at 7-foot-2 and is excellent at moving his feet, given his frame.

What gets overlooked about Clingan is his high basketball IQ. He's consistently in the right place on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he showcased his passing ability in the Summer League, frequently finding cutting teammates. Defensively, his basketball IQ allows him to anticipate plays and provide rim protection as a help defender. Clingan was a significant part of UConn's back-to-back NCAA national championships, and everything he did well in college translated seamlessly to Summer League.

Clingan may not have the same offensive opportunities as a go-to player when the Blazers' regular season starts. Although his volume of touches may decrease, playmakers like Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons will do a much better job finding Clingan in the post and pick-and-rolls when he has a mismatch. The Blazers' Summer League roster had several players that had a score-first mentality. Clingan is limited offensively at this point in his career and should greatly benefit from guards setting him up for easier looks.

Some will say that it's just Summer League, and this may be an overreaction. Still, for Clingan in particular, it's difficult to see how his rebounding and rim protection abilities wouldn't translate to the regular season. Many Blazers fans and NBA analysts thought Portland landed a steal with Clingan falling all the way to No. 7, and his Summer League performance just confirmed it.