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
$Signed a two-year, $14.01 million contract with the Trail Blazers in July of 2024. Contract includes $7.52 million team option for 2026-27.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
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.
ANALYSIS Clingan returned on a minutes restriction from a seven-game absence Friday, but he will rejoin the starting lineup Sunday. Over his last six starts, Clingan holds averages of 7.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in 22.7 minutes per contest.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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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 %
57.1%
Effective Field Goal %
54.4%
3-Point Attempt Rate
13.2%
Free Throw Rate
24.2%
Offensive Rebound %
19.3%
Defensive Rebound %
24.5%
Total Rebound %
21.8%
Assist %
4.6%
Steal %
1.2%
Block %
11.4%
Turnover %
17.1%
Usage %
15.9%
Fantasy Points Per Game
21.4
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.3
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.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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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
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More Fantasy News
Grabs seven boards in return
CPortland Trail Blazers
December 14, 2024
Clingan (knee) tallied six points (3-6 FG, 0-1 3Pt), seven rebounds and two assists across 15 minutes Friday in the Trail Blazers' 118-116 loss to the Spurs.
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Officially deemed questionable
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
December 12, 2024
Clingan (knee) fully participated in Thursday's practice and is listed as questionable for Friday's game versus the Spurs, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.
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Considered day-to-day
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
December 10, 2024
Portland announced Tuesday that Clingan (knee) has been cleared for on-court workouts and will ramp up toward a return to play. Coach Chauncey Billups said he expects Clingan to play Friday against the Spurs, Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian reports.
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Out at least two weeks
CPortland Trail Blazers
Knee
November 26, 2024
Portland announced Tuesday that Clingan (knee) will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Likely to play Friday
CPortland Trail Blazers
December 12, 2024
Clingan practiced Thursday and looked good, according to head coach Chauncey Billups, and he might return to action Friday against the Spurs, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.
ANALYSIS Clingan is working his way back from a left knee injury, but he's been trending in the right direction of late while being able to practice multiple times this week. Clingan's return can't come soon enough for the Blazers, as they're in desperate need of frontcourt depth behind Deandre Ayton due to the absences of Robert Williams and Duop Reath due to injuries.