Boasting elite rim protection and dominant rebounding, Portland's rising center secures his spot among the elite as analysts weigh his defensive prowess against a burgeoning offensive game.
Donovan Clingan has officially arrived on basketball's biggest stage — at least that's what ESPN insiders think.
The Portland Trail Blazers center made his debut on ESPN's Top 100 list, landing at No. 95 as the network rolled out its rankings for the upcoming season.
It's the first time Clingan has appeared on the list at all. He was an "NR," or not ranked, in 2025 — a testament to the season he just had.
Last preseason, ESPN's Kevin Pelton flagged Clingan as a name to watch, noting that as a rookie, Clingan established himself as one of the league's premier rim protectors, swatting 7.5% of opponents' two-point attempts while on the floor. Victor Wembanyama is the only one ahead of Clingan in that department.
The numbers behind his second-year leap justify his place among the league's top 100 players.
Clingan played in 77 games and ranked third among all players in rebounds per game at 11.6 and fifth in blocks at 1.7.
ESPN's panel didn't just note the amount of volume that comes with Clingan — they highlighted his dominance on the glass and defense, pointing out that Clingan was the leader in offensive boards last year.
This was not a crowdsourced verdict that placed Clingan in the top 100. The network explained that the "wisdom of the crowd" approach that has defined previous NBA Rank editions gave way this year to a small panel of seven ESPN insiders. Ben Golliver, Vincent Goodwill, Zach Kram, Bobby Marks, Dave McMenamin, André Snellings and Matt "Stats" Williams all gave their lists on projected value.
Not every note in Clingan's write-up was optimistic; McMenamin pointed to the gap still separating his offensive and defensive abilities.
He wrote that Clingan's next crucial step is to make more of an impact offensively, saying that Clingan needs to build on his 12.1 points on 52% shooting last year, having scored only scoring 7.0 points in the first-round series against the Spurs.
With newly acquired All-Star guard Ja Morant in the picture, along with a plethora of shot-creating guards, do not expect Clingan to create more offensively than he needs to. If he shows more touch around the rim, fans could see Clingan increase his points per game to 15 or even 18.
Still, a 7-foot-2 center entering his third year and third head coach, debuting at No. 95, represents real validation. By ESPN's measuring stick, the whole package is starting to matter more.
