Donovan Clingan Shows Potential Stardom for Trail Blazers 

At the 2024 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers took a major gamble, selecting UConn center Donovan Clingan with the No. 7 overall pick.

While the 7-foot-2 Clingan displayed an immense defensive presence for the two-time champion Huskies, rolling the center dice that high in the draft is always risky business. High-value center prospects litter every single draft, and sifting through them for truly valuable ones can be hard.

So far, Clingan seems to be working out for the Trail Blazers. And night’s like Tuesdays portray a ceiling that would’ve been well worth a top-10 pick, especially in the 2024 draft.

Across his 58 games, Clingan has averaged 6.2 points on 55% shooting, with 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. They’re not eye-popping numbers, but given his lesser 18 minutes per night, it seems Portland is waiting to throw him into the fire. Per 36, the former Husky is averaging 11.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. 

In an 11-point loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, Clingan showed off his ceiling. He scored 18 points on 60% shooting, adding 12 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal. The most important aspect of his night was tied to his 3-point shooting, where he hit on two of his three attempts.

On the year, the big man has shot just 27% from beyond the arc on extremely limited volume, but has displayed just enough touch and pure enough jumper mechanics to lend hope in that area. With his massive interior presence, even cashing in on just one 3-pointer per night could push Clingan into the stardom tier for an NBA center.

The Trail Blazers have already seen some improvement across its rebuilding selections in Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and more. Clingan’s growth would be an especially welcome development for Portland, effectively crossing off another position it needs to worry about for the next half-decade. 

The Trail Blazers next take on the Sacramento Kings at 9 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 27. As of now, they hold the tenth best draft odds for the 2025 NBA Draft with just nine games remaining in their regular season.