Donovan Clingan is usually the biggest guy on any basketball court he’s on.
But lately, the Portland Trail Blazers’ center has shown that he can also knock down 3-pointers.
If he keeps doing that, everything changes.
Clingan is already a phenomenal defensive force. If he adds the 3-ball consistently? Look out.
“Clingan entered the league in 2024 as a bona fide defensive force,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps wrote on Friday. “What wasn’t expected from the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center was his improved ability from beyond the arc. And though it’s still too early to declare Clingan as the league’s next great stretch-5, his shooting is raising eyebrows around the league. Yes, he’s only up to 31% on roughly three attempts per game, but that number has been buoyed by a 12-for-23 clip in December. Even hitting at 35% would be a massive boost to Portland’s long-term future given Clingan’s abilities at the other end of the court.”
MORE: LeBron James gives cryptic response to trade question
Portland is going to play Clingan in big moments either way. He’s too good defensively to be played off the floor.
But there are teams in recent years who have found that as the games get bigger, it can be tough to leave non-shooting centers on the floor, with Rudy Gobert serving as a prime example of this.
Clingan, though, has already shown that he’s more than a non-shooter.
The next step is to show that those December numbers aren’t a fluke and that he’s actually a pretty decent shooter.
If Clingan does that, the Trail Blazers’ future will have brightened quite a bit.
More NBA news:
