Yanic Konan Niederhauser Already On His Way to Filling Ivica Zubac's Shoes

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is making his case to Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.

Leading up to the trade deadline, the 30th-overall pick was an afterthought in LA's rotation. Niederhauser only suited up in 27 of the Clippers' first 47 games, playing just 8.4 minutes per game. Once the calendar flipped to February, however, Los Angeles started giving him more opportunities.

He showed flashes in a 115-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 8, scoring 15 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the field while adding six rebounds. That performance likely helped convince the Clippers to deal starting center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, opening a spot for Niederhauser in the rotation.

Since the rookie officially entered the rotation after the All-Star break, he's quickly proven why LA selected him in the first round. Niederhauser isn't ready to fully replace Zubac's production, but at the very least, he deserves more minutes and a bigger role with Zubac's minutes up for grabs.

Niederhauser Already Making an Impact

In the four games since the All-Star break, Niederhauser has built on his impressive showing against the Timberwolves. Over that stretch, he's played 17 minutes per game while averaging 6.8 points on an efficient 50% from the field and adding 4.8 rebounds per game.

He's displayed his potential on both ends of the floor in his last two games, both narrow losses where Niederhauser played a total of 42 minutes. The rookie had only played that many minutes in back-to-back games one other time this season, dating back to two wins for the Clippers on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.

Against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 22, Niederhauser showed his value as a defender with a career-high four blocks. One of those was a game-saving chasedown block on Orlando's Desmond Bane with 10 seconds left, setting up L.A.'s final offensive possession for a chance to win the game. He also grabbed eight rebounds, with five of those coming on the defensive glass.

Yanic Niederhauser gets deep in the paint and jams it on Naz Reid 💪pic.twitter.com/96yj5EIx4N
— Clippers Nation (@ClipperNationCP) February 27, 2026

Offensively, the rookie did a little bit of everything against the Magic, throwing down a highlight-reel dunk in the first quarter before hitting his first-career three-pointer early in the final frame. He followed that up with another solid display against the Timberwolves on Thursday, scoring 10 points for just the fifth time all season while giving the Clippers an interior threat in the paint.

It's important to remember that the soon-to-be 23-year-old has only 38 games of NBA experience under his belt, so there could be some growing pains as he adjusts. Still, Niederhauser has shown that he has all the tools to be an impactful two-way player for Los Angeles and is well on his way to earning a regular spot in the rotation while starting to replace Zubac's production.