While the Nets are the youngest team in the NBA, their record rookie class hasn’t played as much as some fans want.
But Noah Clowney could calm some of that consternation.
He’s coming off the best two-game stretch of his budding career, impressive enough stepping in for absent Michael Porter Jr. that Brooklyn decided to displace the veteran altogether, Clowney bumping him to small forward.
It’s a promising development. The Nets hope it’s a permanent one.
“When he plays like this, he looks like a grown man at 21. Focused, he can help us on the boards, he can shoot the 3. He’s an overall player,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “He really improved his game and helped the team. His growth, his ceiling is … we don’t even know, even though I can imagine.
“His leadership, the type of person he is, that’s who we want to be. He definitely has the grit we’re looking for.”
That 21 part bears repeating.
Clowney is 70 days younger than Danny Wolf, just 14 months older than Drake Powell, and younger than half of the 59 picks of June’s NBA draft.
After a down season in 2024-25, the Nets still committed to Clowney and picked up his $5.4 million option for 2026-27. His emergence would be huge for Brooklyn.
“I’ve been focused more on just playing hard, giving effort,” Clowney said. “[Before] I was too worried about the end result, what the expectations were and what I should be doing, and it was causing me to get frustrated … so just playing free, playing the right way, playing hard.”
Despite adding needed muscle and drawing praise for a strong summer, Clowney averaged 4.3 points on .233 shooting through the first six games, just 4 of 22 from deep.
But with Porter out Monday, Fernández had a heart-to-heart with Clowney. And the big man has responded the past two games. He played well enough for Porter on Monday that Fernández went with a big lineup two nights later, keeping Clowney in the lineup with Porter at small forward and Nic Claxton at center.
“It’s a good thing. I liked it,” Clowney said. “We can switch a lot. We’ve all got size and we rebound.”
Clowney has averaged 16.0 points on 47.8 percent shooting the past two games, including 6 of 17 from deep, and had the best game of his life in Wednesday’s win in Indiana.
“[He had] a big impact,” Claxton said. “He was up on the switch, he was able to protect the rim … and able to rebound. It definitely helped us.”
Clearly, Clowney’s length, athleticism and activity help their sorry defense.
“It was a relief to have Noah out there … having size out there and not feeling overwhelmed on the glass,” Porter said. “It was a good look for us.”
Clowney used his new physique to not only withstand contact, but initiate it.
He backed out and drove by Isaiah Jackson to score with 4:44 to play, capping a 19-8 run for a 99-91 lead. And Clowney crossed over Pascal Siakam, spun into the lane and found Tyrese Martin for a dagger 3-pointer with 1:34 left. He finished with 17 points and was a plus-8.
“I’ve seen the work he’s been putting in. … He’s finally putting it together in-game,” Martin said. “He’s really putting it together under the lights.”
Clowney’s added bulk aside, much of his improvement is mental. He’s trusting that offseason work rather than forcing it.
“When I was too focused on trying to show my work that I put in over the summer, that’s when I was forcing stuff. I looked bad. I wasn’t helping the team,” Clowney said. “So playing free, it just comes. I worked. Now I’ve got to trust the work at this point. Just hoop.
“[Before] I’d make decisions before the decisions needed to be made … like, if I see they’re guarding a certain way, I’d anticipate and try to do something. Then if they take that away, I’m like, ‘Oh, s–t.’ Now I’m just hooping, playing free, happy.”
If Clowney has a breakthrough, the Nets will be just as happy.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
