2023 NBA Draft Live Tracker: Grading every pick made
2023 NBA Draft grade: No. 21 pick Noah Clowney, Brooklyn Nets
F. Noah Clowney. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Alabama. 21. 147
Grade: C+
Good value pick for the Nets, who swing for upside with the first of two picks. At 18 years old, Noah Clowney is one of the youngest players on the board. He’s already a quality defender with ample room to grow.
A skinny 6-foot-10 big who can switch onto the perimeter and provide significant help-side rim protection, Clowney is an interesting fit in a frontcourt built around Nic Claxton. There’s actually overlap there — the bet is clearly that Clowney can extend his shooting range and eventually play with Claxton.
Clowney has some development left to do offensively, but he’s a bouncy lob threat who loves to run the floor. He moves fluidly downhill and has some upside as a face-up threat long term if he can get the jumper going.
From our NBA Draft Big Board:
"With Brandon Miller soaking up the spotlight in Alabama, you wouldn’t be blamed for overlooking Noah Clowney. The 6-foot-10 freshman, however, has been steadily climbing up draft boards on the strength of his multi-faceted defense and upside as a rim-runner. He will have NBA teams over the moon if the offensive skill set catches up to the raw athletic tools."