Nic Claxton's Breakout Season is powering Brooklyn's Turnaround

The Nets' 4th year big man is exceeding any and all expectations - and it may even earn him some hardware

For NBA fans, opening night is always one of the most anticipated days of the calendar year. Not only does it present you with the opportunity of finally escaping your 4-month-long hiatus from watching basketball, but it also typically serves as a forecast of how the seasons’ of your favourite team(s) and players alike will shape up. New additions to the players’ skillsets appear seemingly out of nowhere, and statements are made from teams, in one way or another.

For Nets fans, however, the awaited evening ended up turning into a 2-hour-long horror movie. Expected to establish themselves as one of the premier teams in the East, they instead fell victim to an utter drubbing at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans. NOLA more than doubled Brooklyn’s score in the first period (32-14), and they never looked back. They scored 130 points in all, winning by a convincing margin of 22 points, and put Brooklyn in the loss column before they could get a win. Needless to say, it was not the season debut the Nets or their fans were hoping for.

That said, there’s often a silver lining even in the most humiliating of defeats, especially if it’s one that occurs early in the season. After all, an NBA season is a long, 82-game grind, and no concrete conclusions can be drawn based on the results of opening night as such. You could shift your focus away from the repulsive “0-1” next to the team’s name in the standings, and towards the flashes of greatness that were shown.

For Brooklyn, that flash was the defence of Nic Claxton. Nets fans headed into the season praying that Claxton would fill out his frame and take the next step into becoming a high level starting center - I mean, why wouldn’t they when they saw their team putting out lineups consisting of 3 guards and Andre Drummond in the playoffs? - and the season opener presented them with an opportunity to observe just how much Clax actually grew (literally and figuratively). For much of the night, Zion Williamson made easy work of the Nets’ defence - Ben Simmons included. But there was one Net that the former Blue Devil didn’t enjoy as much success against: Nic Claxton.

As you can see from these clips, Claxton impressively held his own against Zion. He wasn’t overwhelmed by his power, was able to stay with him on drives, and even managed to block a few shots at the rim - no small feat given the level of finisher Williamson is.

And, as it would turn out, that opening night showing was more or less representative of how the season would go for the 4th year center.

The Case For All-D

About two months ago, I expressed that the Nets’ lackluster defence was the variable holding them back from title contention. Since then, they’ve turned it around in impressive fashion; they’re now a top-10 defence in the NBA and rank even higher when singling out half-court possessions. Ben Simmons getting his legs under him after a woeful start to the season has helped, as has Kevin Durant defending with a level of engagement he hasn’t since his first couple of seasons in Golden State. But make no mistake about it - the linchpin of Brooklyn’s defence has been none other than Nic Claxton.

To put it bluntly, Claxton has firmly etched himself into all-defensive contention through the end of 2022. He recently expressed that he feels he’s gone under the radar as a DPOY candidate, citing both his individual versatility and the Nets’s success, and his play has spoken even louder than his words. Claxton averages 2.6 blocks per game, now first in the league. He leads the league in block rate by an even greater margin with a superlative mark of 7.9% (want some perspective? Hakeem Olajuwon at his peak “only” got as high as 7.0%). Opponents also shoot 13.8% worse when he’s the primary defender at the rim, one of the highest differentials in the league (per BBallIndex). It’s not even as if those stats overstate his impact either; Clax is a genuinely imposing interior presence that erases lots of breakdowns for the Nets.

Brooklyn likes to switch everything on defence (more on that in a moment), which inevitably leads to mismatches and miscommunications every now and then. It’s impossible for all five players to always remain on the same page, and a roster built on offensive firepower is bound to have at least a few defenders that are prey for scoring aces. But all of that is hardly an issue when Clax is manning the backline. Because with his fever-pitch leaping and Elastigirl reach, he erases just about every defensive mistake that occurs. If an opposing guard/wing is able to blow-by a slower-footed Net, Claxton will sharply rotate over and swat the shot just before it draws backboard. If a teammate finds themselves defending a post-up against an opponent they’re giving up several inches to, Claxton will lurk around the restricted area then pounce on any shot attempt with pristine timing:

Claxton is very high-motored (although sometimes too much - block chasing can be an issue for him at times), seldom taking a play off. That leads to lots of these “multiple-effort” type plays. In the following compilation, you’ll see instances of Claxton staying in a “drop” and pouncing on the shot attempt at the last moment, as well as him stunting towards a drive and retreating back to the dunker spot to reject a dunk. Only a handful of NBA defenders make these plays regularly:

But while he’s a tremendous paint protector, Claxton’s defensive game is by no means restricted to rim protection; his calling card has always been his prowess as a switch-big. Brooklyn is among the most switch-heavy defences in the association, switching virtually every on-ball screen that materializes, and it shouldn’t be hard to tell why after watching Claxton defend. He’s 6’10” with a 7’3” wingspan, yet moves with the fluidity of a guard and has the feet of a tap-dancer. Smaller foes often challenge Claxton in isolation, only to find out that generating a clean look against him isn’t any less challenging than moving a bollard by hand. I would say he reminds me of Bam Adebayo, but that’s praise you give to up-and-comers who merely show flashes; not someone who’d quite literally be the league’s preeminent switch big if Bam didn’t exist.

Watching the above clips, or really any Nets game for that matter, should make the following clear: normal NBA guards look absolutely helpless against him. But that isn’t at all to say that Claxton isn’t capable of more than holding his own when met with more formidable attackers, either. For instance, how often do you see someone 6’11” hang with Ja Morant, perhaps the game’s best driver of the basketball and the most athletic guard ever, in this fashion?

Or Luka Doncic?

And even on the rare occasions that he is beat, his titanic wingspan often makes up for it, making him virtually impenetrable as a switch big (the Lavine clip displays what used to be a weakness of his - being too jumpy on switches):

If you remain unsold on Claxton being one of the game’s great defenders (or need a summary of the previous six-ish paragraphs), just observe the first three of the six blocks he garnered against New Orleans a few days ago:

That’s: A stuff after battling 270-pound Jonas Valanciunas in the low post; a play in which he’s switched onto the ever-shifty CJ McCollum 30 feet from the hoop and completely shuts him down; and a timely help that makes up for Ben Simmons’ inability to recreate block #1.

Such a sequence of plays epitomizes just how multifaceted and game-changing of a defender Clax is. He guards everyone, at any position, from anywhere on the court, at any point in the game. He knows how much is demanded of him on the defensive end, and delivers without failure night in and night out. He should most certainly receive some serious buzz when it comes time for voters to cast their All-Defensive picks, and his rare combination of rim-protection and switchability is far and away the main reason the Nets are a top-10 defensive team in the NBA. When you have his athletic traits, anything is possible. When you use those athletic traits to progress all four years of your career, the last sentence goes from a saying to a reality.

What About The O?

For as spectacular as he’s been on the defensive end this season, his development on the offensive side of the ball deserves just as much (okay, maybe not AS much) recognition. He may be one of the poorest shooters in the league, having made 0 threes this season and shooting a dreadful 46% from the free throw line, and he doesn’t have much juice as a creator either. But with the help of the same tools that make him such a formidable defender, Claxton has found ways to contribute offensively nonetheless.

This year, Clax is leading the league in FG% at an astonishing 74.3% clip. As one may be able to guess, a lion-share of those attempts comes within the restricted area, where he shoots a mind-numbing 83%. Much of this has to do with Claxton’s elite athletic abilities, making him a top tier lob threat. He can seemingly catch and finish anything (though he might trust his ability to do that *too* much; plays every now and then where he’d be better off coming down and going back up):

Typically, players who are that efficient from the field are merely rim running centers. Big men who screen and roll for high-level pick-and-roll ball handlers and reap the benefits, but have little offensive involvement otherwise. Such a description isn’t inapplicable to Claxton per se, as much of his accuracy from the floor can be traced back to the paranoiac impact Durant and Irving have on enemy defences. But on the flipside, it’d be nonsensical to pretend that means Claxton isn’t a contributor on the offensive end. Lots of bigs are gifted easy looks; only Clax leads the league in FG%.

What’s perhaps stood out most about Claxton on offence this year is that he’s become increasingly comfortable and poised in more complicated offensive situations, a development that becomes clearer and clearer with each passing game. Take the following clips. By no means is he a creator, but you also don’t see traditional rim-running centers look comfortable scoring in these spots. His visibly improved strength, as well as his impressive body control, are on display (the last clip here could’ve been a pass):

Even a play as simple as this distinguishes him from a mundane rim-runner. After Kyrie Irving draws two to the ball, Claxton rolls and is met by Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak rotating over is a daunting sight for many; it isn’t for Claxton. He simply counters by pivoting and scoring via a jump-hook (which he’s found great success with this season), adding to what ended up being a total of 19 points that night against the Giannis/Lopez frontline. Again, these simply aren’t plays that every big man in the league can execute.

In recent games, Claxton has also shown some flashes as a passer out of the short-roll, a key development given that both Durant and Irving regularly draw two to the ball and the rest of the Nets are pretty good shooters, too. He may not be able to pick apart scrambling defences like a Draymond Green, or even his teammate Ben Simmons, but the following dimes display his improved processing speed nonetheless. If he can cut down on the moments of indecisiveness and these sorts of plays become a common occurrence, it’ll only make him even more devastating as a roll-man.

If there’s something Brooklyn can do to further enhance Claxton’s offensive strengths, it would be to run more screening actions involving he and Kyrie. Irving’s threat to shoot from outside regularly freezes bigs, or downright forces a blitz, and such gravity combined with his quality pocket + lob passing open up avenues for Claxton to roll to the rim. If opponents choose to defend the action 2v2, Claxton’s vertical spacing can make it easier for Irving to get to his midrange pull-up as well.

Yes, Claxton will never be a game changer on offence as long as he remains a non-shooter. The lack of dynamism in his offensive game is a soft-spot you’d rather not deal with in today’s NBA, and his free throw shooting both would hurt the eyes of a shooting coach and could end up putting a cap on his playing time come April. Even so, the work he’s doing on the offensive end this year should not go unnoticed. A play-finisher of his calibre is always welcome next to advantage creators like KD and Kyrie, and even if his FT shooting hasn’t seen any improvements, the strength he’s added has clearly done wonders for his finishing. He’s the league leader in FG% for a reason.

All in all,

Nic Claxton has been everything Nets fans hoped for and a lot, lot more. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving certainly deserve the bulk of the credit for Brooklyn’s great play over the past couple of months, but Claxton’s contributions and refinements on both ends of the court deserve heaps of love as well. Their surprisingly stout defence revolves around the havoc he wreaks, and the same athleticism that makes him a destructive defender allows him to punctuate several Brooklyn possessions in which one of their two stars bends the defence. If he continues to perform at this level and works out the minor deficiencies (and the sole major one - 46% FT shooting) that remain in his game, he’ll land himself in conversations for both All-Defence (or better yet, DPOY) and Most Improved Player. And if Brooklyn puts together a postseason run that has them playing games deep into May, the leap he’s taken will undoubtedly be a big reason why.