Noah Clowney

Brooklyn drafted Noah Clowney 21st in 2023 as a raw 6-foot-10 stretch four out of Alabama — a shot-blocker whose jumper needed convincing. Three years in, the Nets handed him the keys: 66 games, 60 starts and a career-high 27 minutes a night in 2025-26, more responsibility than anyone else on a rebuilding roster carried. The counting stats (12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds) read modestly, and the efficiency — 39.6% from the field, 32.9% from three — shows a young big still learning to pick his spots against NBA size and speed. But the value here is the reps. Brooklyn is deliberately letting Clowney play through mistakes to learn whether the floor-spacing, rim-protecting four they envisioned is real. His 31-point, seven-triple night against New York is the ceiling flash; the season was about building toward it.