The Brooklyn Nets bet on upside when they selected Noah Clowney with the 21st pick in this year’s draft. The 6-foot-10 prospect out of Alabama flashed his versatile skill set for the Crimson Tide during his lone college season.
With the Nets play-in hopes all but dead, Clowney has received expanded minutes in the last week. His positional versatility was on full display during Brooklyn’s 96-88 win over the Toronto Raptors at Scotia Bank Arena on Monday.
Clowney played 21 minutes, spending extended stretches at power forward for the first time this season. He posted seven points and six rebounds on 3-of-7 shooting, finishing a plus-seven off the bench. The rookie flashed several skills that bode well for his potential at either position in the frontcourt.
Clowney drew a strong reaction from Brooklyn’s bench after attacking a closeout and throwing down an assertive dunk in the first quarter.
While the Raptors were shorthanded without Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Clowney also showed off his floor-spacing potential, a skill that attracted the Nets during the draft process. With Toronto threatening Brooklyn’s lead in the fourth quarter, he knocked down a smooth spot-up three from the corner., RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl, Clowney held up defending on the perimeter. He and Day’Ron Sharpe turned in an impressive defensive possession in the first quarter, blocking back-to-back shots.
lowney shot 8-of-16 from three over his last four G-League games. He’s converted 34 percent of 3.0 three-point attempts per game with Long Island this season.
Interim head coach Kevin Ollie offered high praise for Clowney’s performance following the win:
“I’m not surprised by [the fourth quarter three]. I see him knocking shots down all the time in practice. He does a great job with [assistant coach] Ronnie Burrell,” Ollie said. “I liked his aggressiveness going to the rim too. That dunk he had in the first half was pretty big-time. We haven’t had a lot of those this year.
“And if y’all watch the game, how he plays defense is phenomenal. He’s like another Nic [Claxton] out there that can play guards and get through screens. I mean, his defense was phenomenal, and that stuck out to me even more than the threes and the dunks.”
Clowney, the NBA’s fourth-youngest player at 19 years, 256 days, has looked the part in limited NBA opportunities this season. His development in Long Island has been a silver lining during an otherwise disheartening season for Brooklyn. The South Carolina native has averaged 17.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 blocks on 50.0 percent shooting over 19 regular season G-League games.
Third-year center Day’Ron Sharpe played just eight minutes during Monday’s win. With the Nets expected to re-sign Nic Claxton this summer, Clowney’s development could make for an interesting battle among Brooklyn’s backcourt reserves in 2024-25
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