Noah Clowney Prospect Watch: His Game is No Joke

The San Antonio Spurs are still near the bottom of the standings and that means plenty of options when it comes to who they might select in the 2023 NBA Draft. They could just as easily use their early pick or trade down in this draft and just collect assets. If they do move down in this draft, Alabama big man Noah Clowney might be an option.

The 6-foot-10, 210-pound freshman is an excellent rebounder and could eventually be a floor-spacing big man in the NBA. He has to show some more shot-making from deep and from the free-throw line, but the mechanics seem to be there. Although he struggled in his NCAA Tournament games, his full-season body of work speaks for itself. Here it is in his 36 games played and started.

• 9.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 0.8 APG, 0.9 BPG
• 48.6 FG%, 28.3 3P%, 64.9 FT%
• 18.6 PER, 116.7 ORtg, 89.8 DRtg

Noah Clowney Breakdown

Clowney is a great defender who moves his feet well and gives maximum effort every second he’s on the floor. He can just as easily hard hedge on a screen, recover to his original man, goes out to contest a corner three, and then grab the rebound after it’s all said and done. His motor never stops, he has a nose for the ball off the rim and shows great awareness for his age. He also plays and acts older than his age, which is one of the intangible traits that will undoubtedly impress teams.

While the big man is a versatile defender and could be a potential threat in the pick-and-roll, he has a few things to work on heading into his rookie year. He has to put on some weight as he will get bullied by bigger forwards or centers at the NBA level. He desperately needs to become a more consistent shooter both from the free throw line and from distance. Improving from outside the paint will go a long way in making him a legitimate offensive threat.

Clowney is likely to go somewhere in the first round near the end of the lottery or close to the end of the round. There’s no true consensus on where he lands, but he will likely be a small project for a team. Fortunately, he’s already mature beyond his years and would likely be fine in that role while still being able to contribute a little bit on the court immediately as well.