Oct 17, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) looks on against the Toronto Raptors during the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Brooklyn Nets' Lack of Shot Blocking Could Become Serious Problem

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI | By Ivan White | Last updated Oct 28, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Brooklyn Nets are winless this season with plenty of issues, but their rim protection could be at the top of the list.

On Monday night, there were 22 teams in action across the NBA’s 11-game slate. Thunder star Chet Holmgren racked up four blocks in Dallas, Jaden McDaniels swatted four shots for Minnesota against Denver and plenty of others around the league sent their opponents’ shots away from the rim.

Well, just about everyone except for Brooklyn. In Monday’s matchup against the Rockets, the Nets finished without a single block, doing so for the third time in four tries this season. The Pelicans’ blockless performance against the Celtics on Monday became the first non-Nets zero-block game this season. For reference, there were only 34 such games all of last season, with Brooklyn accounting for only one.

Although a three-block performance in Charlotte to open the year has somewhat salvaged Brooklyn’s stats, the Nets are now the only team in the league averaging under one block per game. In fact, the Nets are the only team in the league not getting at least two blocks a night.

Day’Ron Sharpe leads Brooklyn with two total blocks this season, while Cam Thomas accounts for the lone other rejection for the Nets. While the Nets aren’t the worst defense at the rim statistically, they still rank in the bottom 10 in defending inside, allowing opponents to shoot nearly 70% inside of 5 feet.

Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The obvious question would be how to fix this strange problem for the Nets. And the obvious answer would seemingly be Nic Claxton, the team’s starting center, who averaged 2.5 blocks a night just three years ago.

This season, Claxton has easily played more than any other big on the roster, but he hasn’t shown much of any ability to be the force Brooklyn needs inside. Sure, individual block numbers might not show the overall impact of a center defensively, but when someone who earned his big payday off his ability to protect the paint is unable to get any blocks through four games, there might be a serious problem.

From here, Brooklyn might just be best waiting things out. After all, the team is looking to tank, and sometimes something like a low block number that can be easily overlooked can actually turn out to make a significant difference between winning and losing.

Of course, if Sean Marks and company want to get out of this rebuild in the near future, they will need to be on the lookout for their next paint protector.

This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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