Many mock drafts had Clingan as a top-three pick, so Portland getting him at No. 7 represents a slide down the board. The UConn product, with his 7-foot-2 frame, is a traditional big. He blocks shots at an elite level, rebounds, and works in the paint on offense. How much he gets used in the post instead of simply as a pick-and-roll threat remains to be seen, but it will be an option for him. Clingan's experience with an excellent college program and his baseline of skill make him one of the more ready-made prospects in the draft. In Summer League, Clingan averaged 9.0 points and 0.8 threes on 36/23/50 shooting, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, 0.8 steals and 2.0 assists with 2.8 turnovers in 25.4 minutes. Clingan explored shooting threes in Summer League, which hurt his offensive performance. But he was a monster on defense, showing fans why he was in the discussion to be selected sooner in the draft. That said, he will have to compete with Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams for minutes as a rookie, which is a far from ideal situation since nobody in the trio can effectively play power forward. With the blocks upside alone, it's defensible to take a chance on Clingan in fantasy, but it will probably take a major injury or trade for the full potential to be realized. Read Past Outlooks
A native of Bristol, Conn., Clingan averaged 30.3 points, 18.4 boards and 6.2 blocks as a senior in high school. The two-time Gatorade Player of the Year committed to UConn in July of 2021, and also received offers from Michigan, Ohio State, Syracuse and other high-majors. A top-50 player in the 2022 high school class, Clingan was an immediate impact player as a freshman at UConn during the 2022-23 season. His interior scoring, rebounding and high-volume shot-blocking helped propel the Huskies to the 2023 National Championship. Clingan opted to return for his sophomore season, taking on a larger role and posting 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 blocks en route to another National Championship. The 7-foot-2 center's raw numbers may not jump off the page, but he played only 22.5 minutes per game as a sophomore due to a deep and talented Huskies roster. Clingan finished the 2023-24 season ranked top 10 nationally in block rate (11.4%), defensive rating (89.4), win shares per 40 minutes (.302) and defensive box plus/minus (6.2). Clingan's combination of size and defensive awareness makes him one of the best big man prospects in the draft. With a 7-foot-7 wingspan and excellent mobility, Clingan has immense potential as a defender, particularly around the rim. He's poised to be among the better shot-blockers in the NBA, but could struggle when asked to switch out onto much quicker players. Offensively, Clingan is relatively limited, but he's a strong finisher inside with good touch for his size. While he doesn't have a deep arsenal of post moves, Clingan also doesn't demand the ball, which should bode well for his future as a low-maintenance, defense-first, lob-finisher at the pro level. Clingan fits the bill of a plug-and-play lottery pick for most teams, even if he's not a high-minute player right away. His size and length should allow him to patrol the rim at a borderline-elite level in the NBA. However, the jump up in competition could render Clingan less-imposing than he was for a UConn team that often had a significant talent advantage. On the other end of the floor, Clingan's offensive game remains a major question mark. Clingan rarely shot the ball outside the paint at UConn and is likely years away from developing a reliable jumpshot. He also shot just 51.7 percent at the free-throw line as a freshman before showing marginal improvement (57.4% FT) as a sophomore. Walker Kessler and Jakob Poeltl are the current NBA players who fit Clingan's size and skill archetype.
Double-doubles with eight blocks
CPortland Trail Blazers
November 14, 2024
Clingan chipped in 17 points (6-10 FG, 5-5 FT), 12 rebounds, one assist and eight blocks in 31 minutes during Wednesday's 106-98 victory over the Timberwolves.
ANALYSIS With Deandre Ayton (finger) out again, Portland's 2024 first-round pick turned in a stellar performance. At 7-2 and 282 pounds, Clingan is a challenge for any frontcourt, and he posted the huge number against Rudy Gobert and Julian Randle, arguably the best interior duo in the league.The UConn product dominated inside with eight blocked shots, and was only two swats short of the rare point-rebound-block triple-double.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
Loading Split Stats...
Advanced Stats
Loading Advanced Stats...
2024
Stat Review
How does Donovan Clingan compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
59.8%
Effective Field Goal %
54.6%
3-Point Attempt Rate
9.3%
Free Throw Rate
33.3%
Offensive Rebound %
16.0%
Defensive Rebound %
21.5%
Total Rebound %
18.6%
Assist %
2.2%
Steal %
1.0%
Block %
13.3%
Turnover %
15.5%
Usage %
14.8%
Fantasy Points Per Game
19.1
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.2
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
Loading Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats...
Historical ADP
Loading Historical ADP...
Trail Blazers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Donovan Clingan was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
Loading Average Minutes...
Loading FanDuel Points...
Loading DraftKings Points...
Loading Yahoo Points...
Loading Head2Head Points...
Loading Sorare Points...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Donovan Clingan See More
Although Zaccharie Risacher was selected with the first overall pick this year, he could struggle to carve out a role as a rookie. Alex Rikleen breaks down which rookies could surprise this season.
Although Alex Sarr was selected No. 2 overall this summer, his situation in Washington could make him one of the top fantasy rookies this year. Juan Pablo Aravena analyzes the top first-year players.
Twelve experts test their fantasy basketball rankings in this head-to-head points league mock draft. Who made the best picks for their NBA Fantasy team?
Alex Barutha participates in his second 9-cat H2H mock draft of the season, picking from the No. 9 spot and selecting Trae Young.
More Fantasy News
Limited impact Tuesday
CPortland Trail Blazers
November 13, 2024
Clingan finished Tuesday's 122-108 victory over the Timberwolves with four points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3Pt), six rebounds, one block and one steal across 21 minutes.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
ANALYSIS Clingan is limiting opponents to 41.4 percent shooting in the paint, while Wembanyama's stifling 37.1 percent mark is a league-best. Clingan also ranks in the 96th percentile for total rebounding percentage, showcasing remarkable impact defensively, especially for a rookie.