Donovan Clingan is a 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center for the Portland Trail Blazers, drafted 7th in 2024 out of UConn, where he won back-to-back NCAA championships. A defensive-anchor big built around rim protection, rebounding, and efficient interior scoring, he made the 2025 All-Rookie Second Team and projects as Portland's long-term defensive centerpiece.
Model lines Clingan at 12 pts (range 9.3–14.7) vs a 12 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (50%).
Biggest edge: venue — home floor — small boost.
A 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center — a defensive anchor and rim protector for the Blazers.
Clingan won back-to-back NCAA titles at UConn before Portland drafted him 7th in 2024.
He honors his late mother, wearing No. 23 after her No. 32 in college.
As a rookie he made the All-Rookie Second Team with strong rim protection.
A 7-foot-2 anchor, he's Portland's long-term defensive centerpiece.
A 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center — a defensive anchor and rim protector for the Blazers.
Donovan Clingan was born in Bristol, Connecticut and won back-to-back NCAA championships at UConn (2023, 2024) as an imposing defensive center before Portland drafted him 7th in 2024. He wears No. 23 in tribute after wearing his late mother's No. 32 through high school and college.
A 7-foot-2 rim protector and efficient interior finisher, he averaged around 8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as a rookie and made the 2025 All-Rookie Second Team, projecting as Portland's long-term defensive centerpiece.
Sources: Wikipedia, NBA.com, Basketball-Reference, ESPN.
Clingan's story is rooted in family and loss — his mother, Stacey, a record-setting college player at Maine, died of breast cancer in 2018, and he honored her by wearing her No. 32 through high school and college before choosing No. 23 in Portland. A two-time Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year, he became the anchor of a UConn dynasty.
His on-court identity is elite size and rim protection — a true 7-foot-2 center who blocks shots, rebounds, and finishes efficiently near the basket (a high college field-goal percentage), a traditional drop-coverage anchor. His limited perimeter range keeps him near the rim, but his defense, size, and finishing make him a genuine defensive centerpiece for the Blazers' rebuild.
An imposing, shot-blocking center — rim protection, rebounding, and efficient interior finishing.
Elite rim protection and size
Clingan's value is defense and size — a true 7-foot-2 center who blocks shots, rebounds, and finishes efficiently near the basket, the anchor of a UConn dynasty translated to the NBA. That rim protection and interior presence made him an All-Rookie pick and give Portland a genuine defensive centerpiece to build around.
A traditional anchor
His limited perimeter range keeps him near the rim in a spacing-driven era, but his shot-blocking, rebounding, and efficient finishing are legitimately valuable. Continued development of conditioning, mobility, and any perimeter touch would raise his ceiling; as a defensive-anchor center on a young team, his floor and role are already high.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 77 | 27.2 | 12.1 | 11.6 | 2.1 | .520 | .341 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
A 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center — Portland's long-term defensive centerpiece.
Clingan projects as Portland's defensive anchor — a rim-protecting, rebounding center whose value is tied to interior defense and efficient finishing, capped by an All-Rookie season. Continued development of conditioning, mobility, and perimeter touch would raise his ceiling; his defensive floor is already high.
Contract
A 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center and two-time NCAA champion — a defensive anchor and rim protector who projects as Portland's long-term frontcourt centerpiece.
Elite size and rim protection — a 7-foot-2 shot-blocking center and back-to-back NCAA champion at UConn who anchors the defense and finishes efficiently inside.
He wore his late mother Stacey's No. 32 through high school and college; in Portland he chose No. 23 to continue honoring her.
UConn, where he won back-to-back NCAA championships (2023, 2024) as a defensive anchor.