© Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Nets Nic Claxton Wants To Embrace His 'Young Clax'
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When a player is comfortable, confident, and being himself out on the hardwood, it's a recipe for success. Enter Nic Claxton, who has checked off all of those boxes in his hot start to the season with a new mindset: ‘Young Clax.’
Claxton - who tallied consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his short NBA career Friday night - is breathing with extreme confidence, boasting more muscle frame packed with a mass increase. In Brooklyn's first win of the season, he did a bit of everything, concluding the victory with 19 points (third-highest on Nets) on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting from the field to pair with 11 boards and four blocked shots in 33 minutes.
“Just more comfortable, more confident. Just trying to get back to young Clax. Just being myself," said Claxton after the Nets 109-105 win over the Raptors on Friday night. "We need other guys to step up. We can’t have Kyrie [Irving] and KD [Kevin Durant] trying to do everything. Just playing my game and my teammates are doing a good job of instilling confidence in me."
The young big hasn't had a smooth path since joining the NBA in 2019. He's dealt with his fair share of injuries, which halted opportunities for him to become a household name in Brooklyn. While he thrived when opportunities came his way, this season is much different.
After Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, and LaMarcus Alridge weren't retained by the Nets in the off-season, the starting big-man spot was his to lose. The moment that opportunity came knocking, Claxton busted down the door and had quickly taken full advantage.
"I had simple advice for him [Claxton] tonight; if we’re not seeing you play like that, as hard, offensively and defensively, then we got to hold you accountable to that standard, and he knew it," Irving disclosed postgame.
"When he adds points like that on the board and he’s pushing in transition and doing little things like that and he’s just bringing that strength to the team to be able to take pressure off of us and go score, it gives us a lot of comfortable space. I’m happy he played well, we want him to keep it up, but now as a young player in the league, he has to show consistency, and we gotta be right there with him.”
Claxton has entered his fourth year with a different demeanor, a dedicated mindset forged through his off-season work. He's visibly more aggressive getting to the rim and not shying away from shooting free throws - the biggest known weakness to his game (53.9 percent career shooting percentage). That was, if not, the biggest challenge the Nets head coach, Steve Nash threw at his young big man at the beginning of training camp. He's worked diligently at the charity strike in the off-season and coming off a night he shot 3-of-8 from the stripe, he isn't satisfied with the number of attempts.
“That’s just me. I want to go to the free throw line 10-plus times a game. That’s something I embrace and want to work on. I embrace the challenge," said Claxton on getting to the line postgame. "I have no fear. I want to go out there and try to finish every time I get an opportunity. That’s just who I am as a player."
To make things sweeter in the borough, Claxton has showcased handfuls of moves fans haven't seen since his two-year stint at Georgia, like handling the ball and drives to the basket that have ranged from the nail all the way back to the opposing baseline. He’s molding into a duel threat on both ends of the floor.
“It gives us a little bit of a different dimension when he's able to make plays like that. I think that's always been Nic’s game," said Steve Nash on Nic Claxton's performance after the 109-105 victory over the Raptors Friday night. "He was a he played a lot with the ball in college. But having said that, you know injuries and developing into a man and you know to play at this level is a step and so, you know with those injuries and sent him back but his professionalism this summer, I've talked about before he was great, and he stuck to it and he took a level as a professional. And so you're seeing that now he's stronger, fitter, and then you can see his skills that he's continuing to develop come out so he was able to make some great finishes tonight. He knows athleticism and activity can be a factor as well.”
Although Claxton wasn't able to display his newest moves often in his previous three years with the Nets, his teammates aren't surprised by what they're seeing on the hardwood. In Kevin Durant's eyes, now that Claxton has a full understanding of how Brooklyn wants to utilize him, he's able to implement his skillset that benefits his teammates more often.
"He had all of that stuff when he got here. It's just being more confident and using it. Coach trusts him. His teammates trust him so he can go out there and do his thing," said Durant on Claxton utilizing his skills. "Sometimes you don't want to showcase all your skills early on because you don't know how they fit towards the team. He's comfortable now and we need him to be more and more aggressive. Three of eight from the free throw line, would love to see him be six of eight, seven for eight. I think he has that in him. So you see the progression in Nic and we're going to need that going forward."
What’s next for Claxton and his growth? The starting center provided glimpses of what he wanted to showcase in the black and white, but he wants to hold consistency each and every night. But there’s one personal goal he wants to prove this season: be one of the best defenders in the league each and every game.
“You saw some of it today, just getting out in transition. Finishing everything around the rim," Claxton stated postgame. "Being consistent on defense, especially in the first half. In the first half, I had some mishaps and got into a little bit of foul trouble just protecting the rim. I did a much better job in the second half. I really want to be the anchor of the defense and be one of the best defenders in the league night in and night out.”
The 23-year-old has turned heads and gained the trust of his teammates and head coach. More than anything, he’s passed all the tests thrown at him so far.
