Trail Blazers Select Donovan Clingan No. 7 Overall at 2024 NBA Draft

With the first of their lottery picks, Portland added more talent to their team at the 2024 NBA Draft.

Apr 8, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) reacts and rips his undershirt in the second half against the Purdue Boilermakers in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of two teams with multiple lottery picks at the 2024 NBA Draft, and after selecting Scoot Henderson No. 2 overall last year were hoping to add even more youth to their squad.

With the first of their picks they nabbed UConn's Donovan Clingan No. 7 overall.

They’ll now join a team ripe with both young and win-now talent in Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton and more.

Helping UConn to back-to-back titles in his collegiate career, Clingan was a force inside on both ends, getting easy offense and putting a lid on the rim with his 7-foot-3 frame. In 35 games as a sophomore, he scored 13.0 points, grabbed 7.4 rebounds and nabbed 2.5 blocks per game.

Per Draft Digest’s earlier scouting report on Clingan: Near the rim, Clingan is extremely efficient and finishes very well through contact. While he has more work to do from a coordination standpoint, he’s learning to leverage his frame to take advantage of smaller defenders in the paint. As a rim protector, Clingan is one of the best in the country. He takes up so much space with his long frame and also moves very well for a prospect of his height and weight.

All eyes now turn to 2024 NBA Summer League, which kicks off Saturday, July 6, with the California Classic. The annual summer showdown featuring all 30 teams takes place from July 12-22 in Las Vegas.

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