Brooklyn Nets 2025-26 Season Player Grades: Noah Clowney

There was no player on the Brooklyn Nets roster this past season who was asked to take on a larger role than Noah Clowney.

The third-year forward out of Alabama saw some decent action as a sophomore during the 2024-25 season, appearing in 46 games with 20 starts. Those numbers would quickly increase in 2025-26, when head coach Jordi Ferenandez asked much more of Clowney.

Clowney would play in a career-high 66 games last season for the Nets, with 60 of those games being starts. He averaged 27 minutes a night, also a career-high. With those increased minutes, Clowney turned in his most productive NBA season to date.

He averaged 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 39.6% from the field and 32.9% from three-point range. Under an increased workload and playing alongside other scorers, Clowney still found a way to impact the box score every night, showing some improvements as a scorer.

He increased his true shooting and effective field goal percentages from his second season, showing an increased ability to finish at the rim. His 6-foot-10 frame allowed him a size mismatch to score over other smaller forwards and wings, one in which he took advantage of throughout the season.

For Clowney to truly take the next step as a player, he'll have to improve his overall efficiency, especially from behind the arc. He took 392 of his 631 shots (62.1%) on the season from three, but only knocked down 129 of them. He was 55th in the NBA in total threes attempted, but just 151st in three-point percentage. That's a number that needs to increase in the future.

Clowney took big strides defensively this past season, utilizing his taller frame to make life difficult for Brooklyn's opponents. There are still some improvements that need to be made there as well, as the team would like to see more splash defensive plays from him, but the foundation on that end of the court is solid.

With the rebuild potentially nearing the end of its really rough years, it seems like the organization has found something in Clowney. The warts in his game are real, but the upside is too. He's still young enough to expect that significant growth can still be had with his game, which is huge for the Nets and their hopes of winning in the near future.

Clowney is a building block piece for Brooklyn, and this past season showed that he can handle bigger workloads. The future is bright for him in the black and white.

Season grade: B+

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