The seventh overall pick in June NBA Draft7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan is already doing things we don’t typically see from freshmen bigs. He has blocked at least one shot in the first 17 games of his career, which Only three other players in history have done so. — all of them are Hall of Famers (Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol…not to mention he just surpassed Michael Jordan). But in Saturday night’s 104-98 victory over the Houston Rockets, Clingan etched his name into the annals of historically bizarre events. NBA stat lines.
Starting in place of the injured Deandre Ayton, Clingan tallied a career-high 19 rebounds…without scoring a single point. He is the first player to go without scoring with at least 19 rebounds since Omer Asik in November 2012. by Stathead. Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman did it seven times throughout his career, once recording a zero-point, 28-rebound game with the San Antonio Spurs.
However, Clingan’s feat was even more impressive because it came in just 25 minutes of action. The last player to grab at least 19 rebounds in 25 minutes or less was Steven Adams in 2022. The Blazers rookie added three blocks, a steal and an assist to his extremely rare statistical night. Later, in the locker room, Clingan’s teammates showered him with “19” chants from all directions.
“It feels good,” Clingan said of his teammates’ praise. “I’m working hard and just trying to help my team win. So if that’s what you do, that’s what you do.”
The UConn product has had a solid rookie campaign averaging 5.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in just 17 minutes per game, recording a career-high eight blocks just over a week against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Ayton’s injury and teammate Robert Williams’ load management have led to increased playing time for Clingan, who has made the most of it by averaging 7.7 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks in his last six games (all starts) in which the Blazers have a 4-2 record.
