Clingan seized Portland's starting center job after Deandre Ayton's departure and never gave it back, starting all 77 of his appearances in 2025-26 while averaging 12.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. The 7-foot-2 sophomore delivered exactly what his late-rookie-season surge promised, providing near-elite rim protection with a double-double most nights. However, he added a wrinkle. After his three-ball looked like a liability during his first season, Clingan knocked down 34.1 percent of his attempts on 3.2 attempts per game in Year 2. He kept his field-goal percentage at a respectable 52.0 despite more perimeter shots, elevating his offensive ceiling past the traditional-big label. He shot just 68.0 percent from the line, which stings in category leagues even at modest volume, and his 0.6 steals per game left his defensive value concentrated on blocks. It's also fair to note the monitored workload. Clingan played 27.2 minutes per game, which is light for a full-time starter, and whether that was due to foul trouble, matchup-based benchings or simply management, there's clearly more upside if Portland pushes him into the low 30s. The depth chart shouldn't stand in the way. Robert Williams, who signed a three-year deal to return to Portland, has never submitted a full season, and second-year center Yang Hansen remains a developmental piece. Clingan enters Year 3 as a top-tier source of rebounds and blocks with a floor-spacing element most rim protectors can't offer. He's a strong mid-round target in category formats, particularly for punt-free-throw builds. Points-league managers can bump him down a tier, where the modest scoring and steals limit his ceiling. However, if his minutes climb, Clingan has top-50 upside in any format. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $14.01 million contract with the Trail Blazers in July of 2024. Trail Blazers exercised $7.52 million team option for 2026-27 in October of 2025. Contract includes $9.55 million team option for 2027-28.
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.
Mixed bag in preseason opener
CPortland Trail Blazers
October 8, 2026
Clingan finished with three points (1-7 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 1-1 FT), 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block over 20 minutes in Wednesday's 123-118 preseason win over the Warriors.
ANALYSIS Clingan had a hard time finding the bottom of the basket in the preseason opener, but he collected a team-high 10 boards to go with a full stat line. The 2024 first-rounder added a respectable three-point shot to his arsenal and improved as a free-throw shooter a year ago, and there's still room for growth for Clingan in his third season.
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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Advanced Stats
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2025
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 %
60.4%
Effective Field Goal %
58.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
36.0%
Free Throw Rate
29.7%
Offensive Rebound %
17.7%
Defensive Rebound %
28.8%
Total Rebound %
23.2%
Assist %
11.5%
Steal %
0.9%
Block %
5.5%
Turnover %
9.2%
Usage %
16.9%
Fantasy Points Per Game
34.7
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.3
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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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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Donovan Clingan See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2025
2024
Clingan's rookie season was a rollercoaster ride that ended on a high note. He had to battle for minutes to start the campaign, playing behind Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams. Clingan was thrown into prominent roles on occasion when there were injuries ahead of him, but he took off in mid-February. After posting 21 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench during a blowout loss to Denver on Feb. 10, Clingan moved into the first five and never looked back, starting the final 27 regular-season games. From Feb. 10 on, the big man averaged 8.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 blocks and 0.6 steals in 25.3 minutes while shooting 55.6 percent from the field. While the peripheral stats were encouraging, Clingan struggled mightily from the free-throw line, dropping his value in category leagues. He also attempted multiple three-pointers eight times, shooting 29 percent from deep in those games, so even when he was feeling it, the results weren't there. He barely cracked the top 150 in eight-category leagues as a rookie, but with Ayton now in Los Angeles, it's Clingan's job to lose. Williams has struggled to stay healthy his entire career and will likely handle a limited reserve role, while Duop Reath is best used as a five in small-ball lineups. Rookie Yang Hansen will take time to develop and doesn't pose an immediate threat to Clingan, whose defensive prowess gives him a strong fantasy floor even if there are question marks about his offensive upside.
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.
More Fantasy News
Notches 10 points in loss
CPortland Trail Blazers
April 29, 2026
Clingan accumulated 10 points (4-11 FG, 2-7 3Pt), five rebounds and six assists across 27 minutes during Tuesday's 114-95 loss to San Antonio in Game 5 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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Limited again in Game 4 loss
CPortland Trail Blazers
April 26, 2026
Clingan chipped in five points (2-10 FG, 1-6 3Pt), six rebounds and one block over 14 minutes during Sunday's 114-93 loss to the Spurs in Game 4 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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Offensive struggles continue
CPortland Trail Blazers
April 25, 2026
Clingan finished Friday's 120-108 loss to the Spurs in Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs with seven points (2-6 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 2-4 FT), 11 rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
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Steamrolled by Wemby in Game 1
CPortland Trail Blazers
April 20, 2026
Clingan totaled four points (2-7 FG, 0-3 3Pt), seven rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes during Sunday's 111-98 loss to San Antonio in Game 1 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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Records double-double in victory
CPortland Trail Blazers
April 11, 2026
Clingan contributed 18 points (6-12 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocks across 28 minutes during Friday's 116-97 victory over the Clippers.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Pegged for breakout season
CPortland Trail Blazers
September 19, 2026
Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz identified Clingan as the Trail Blazers' top breakout candidate for the 2026-27 season.
ANALYSIS Clingan established himself as Portland's full-time starting center last season, increasing his playing time from 19.8 minutes per game as a rookie to 27.2 minutes during his sophomore campaign. In 21 regular-season contests in which he played at least 30 minutes, the 7-foot-2 big man averaged 16.0 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 blocks while shooting 58.6 percent from the field. Clingan also made 41.3 percent of his 75 three-point attempts during that sample, and another increase in playing time could lead to a sizable third-year jump.