2024 NBA Draft Prospect: Donovan Clingan

Donovan Clingan will add rim protection, size, and inside scoring to the team that drafts him in June.

2024 NBA Draft prospect: Donovan Clingan (UConn)

Height without shoes, Weight, and Age when NBA season begins: 7’2”, 282 pounds, 20 years old

Standing reach: 9’7” | Wingspan: 7’7”

Mock average: 5.8

NBA player ranking for access to combine information: 2nd - 6th (for teams drafting 1st to 15th)

4 Observations

1. Size - Clingan has the size to set good on and off ball screens for his teammates, allowing them to get separation from their defender for jumpers or to drive inside. One of the actions to help his teammates get some space is when Clingan delivers a DHO, he’ll immediately set a screen on the defender of the ball handler, to give the ball handler an advantage, whether the player puts up a shot or speeds up his dribble. One of the downsides to Clingan having so much size is he’s not quick with the ball, when having to dribble, or when moving laterally against bigs who can take the ball off the dribble and against guards/wings.

2. Rim Protection - Clingan mostly plays drop out of the P&R to protect the rim, and when guarding the rim, he does a good job of keeping his hands up high and using his body to use verticality against the attacking player. Clingan can get blocks just by keeping two hands up and one of his patented blocks, is swatting a layup off the glass. Because of how much space he can limit in the paint, some players will think twice about driving in against him. When dropping, Clingan is good at backpedaling, keeping his hands active, and keeping his eye on the player with the ball. With Clingan mainly going into drop, opponents who can shoot the three off the dribble will get good looks if he does drop. There are also times when he may bite on pump fakes, allowing a player to drive past him.

3. Rebounding - With his size and length, Clingan is able to crash the glass and if he can’t secure the rebound, he’s able to tip it out so teammates can try to get the board.

4. Scoring inside - Clingan is able to score inside whether on dives, when rolling in the P&R, or in high-low action. When he does dive inside, he keeps his hands up high to make himself a passing target for teammates to throw the ball to him. If he’s got the size advantage on the catch near the rim, he’ll quickly throw down a two-handed dunk. In some possessions in the open court, Clingan will run the floor and if the defense isn’t looking and his teammates see him, he’ll catch the ball and dunk the ball with authority on the break. Clingan shows some flashes of post play with both scoring with hooks or finding cutters, but he can also have difficulty at times in the post, especially when multiple defenders swarm him. Lastly, since Clingan is only mainly a threat inside the paint on offense, defenders completely back off of him outside of the paint. The positive is he can set up teammates from up top or create DHO actions, but the downside is the spacing in the paint is cramped.

What do other draft experts say about Clingan?

• Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer: Shot blocking, interior scoring, off-ball defense, rebounding

• Jonathan Givony of ESPN: Size, length, defensive prowess, and passing ability

• Krysten Peek of Yahoo! Sports: Mobile big, can run the floor with size, elite rim protector

• NBA Draft Room: Elite defensive anchor

What are Clingan’s NBA comps?

• My comps: Flashes of Walker Kessler

• Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer: Shades of Roy Hibbert

• NBADraftRoom.com: Walker Kessler, Mark Eaton plus

Read about other Draft Prospects: Alexandre Sarr | Zaccharie Risacher | Nikola Topic | Ron Holland | Rob Dillingham | Stephon Castle | Dalton Knecht | Reed Sheppard

How would Clingan fit on the San Antonio Spurs?