Clippers Have Found Ivica Zubac's Replacement Faster Than Anyone Expected

The 2026 NBA trade deadline saw the Los Angeles Clippers shake up their core, trading away James Harden and parting ways with, at the time, the longest-tenured Clipper, Ivica Zubac. The difference between those two trades is that the Clippers brought in a Harden replacement in Darius Garland, but with the Zubac trade, they left a massive hole at the five-spot—or so we thought.

Since the Zu trade, rookie big man Yanic Konan Niederhäuser has taken his play to a whole new level and is proving that he should be viewed as the team's center of the future. Monday night against Golden State, he was pivotal in the Clippers' 114-101 win, recording 11 points and nine rebounds.

While the offense was good, the most impressive part of his performance against the Warriors was his defense. The rookie was a force at the rim all game, recording four blocks and creating problems anytime Golden State tried to attack the basket.

This was something Ty Lue emphasized post-game: “He was a game changer… the biggest thing is defensively. Challenging every shot, blocking shots at the rim."

Clippers' Yanic Konan Niederhäuser Is Ahead of Schedule

Last season, Zu was incredible, averaging 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and making the All-Defensive second team. Even though his production dipped slightly this season to 14.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game, trading him still left LA with what looked like a top-10 center-sized hole in the middle. That is what makes the emergence of Konan Niederhäuser so encouraging for the Clippers’ future.

Since Zubac's departure, we've seen that, in an expanded role, Konan Niederhäuser is an elite defensive player who creates havoc at the rim. Since the deadline, he has averaged 1.6 blocks per game, and LA owns the league’s 12th-best defensive rating over that stretch.

The next step in his development comes on the offensive side.

Zubac has never been a very complex scorer, as most of his offense comes from the pick-and-roll and post-up situations. This is where he and Konan Niederhäuser separate, as the rookie has a much higher offensive ceiling.

Zu was never a floor spacer, and while we haven't seen YKN do much three-point shooting, it's a skill he has and something Ty Lue said he wants to see more of. This season, he's only taken five threes, but as he gets more comfortable offensively, that part of his game will follow. In general, though, his offense has been very encouraging since Zubac's departure, as his points per game have jumped from 3.5 to 7.6.

While many Clippers fans may have been hesitant with the thought of a different center roaming the paint than Ivica Zubac, the play of Yanic Konan Niederhäuser should ease that. Since taking on an expanded role, he's already shown he possesses elite rim protection, great athleticism, and an untapped offensive bag that may eventually see him reach a higher peak than Zu ever did in LA.