The next Rudy Gobert is quietly lurking in Portland

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is an all-time great defender. His rim protection and ability to anchor elite defenses set him apart from others. Gobert's four Defensive Player of the Year awards are tied for the most in league history. Additionally, Gobert has made eight All-Defensive teams in his 12-year career. This number would be even higher if the NBA had adopted positionless All-Defensive teams sooner.

While it's hard to say he'll match Gobert's accomplishments, Portland Trail Blazers big man Donovan Clingan has clear stylistic similarities to Gobert. Clingan is already an elite rim protector who, like Gobert, is a drop coverage style defender who alters the opposing team's strategy. It's not far-fetched to believe that Clingan will anchor many great defenses throughout his career.

Gobert was a common draft comparison for the UConn product, and he showed why in his rookie season. Let's further dive into Clingan's game and his similarities to Gobert.

The similarities between Clingan and Gobert

As a rookie, Clingan was quietly already one of the NBA's best rim protectors, averaging 1.6 blocks in just 19.8 minutes. Per 36 minutes, Clingan's 3 blocks ranked second behind Victor Wembanyama, and per 100 possessions, Clingan posted 100 blocks, which led the NBA. Cling Kong also posted an elite 7.5 block percentage. Clingan actually averaged more blocks than Gobert, who averaged 1.4 blocks last season. However, for his career, Gobert has averaged 2.1 blocks.

Clingan doesn't quite deter the opposing team's shots to the level of Gobert yet. Nevertheless, Clingan showed flashes of altering the opponent's team's thought process, and this is likely to progress throughout his career.

When guarded by Clingan, opponents shot just 50.8 percent at the rim, which is 12.8 percent below average. Furthermore, with Clingan on the court, the Blazers had the fourth-best defense, but they posted just the 19th-best defense without him on the court. That's a Gobert-like impact if I've ever seen one. At the same time, Clingan's defensive impact flew under the radar.

For Clingan to already be this elite a defender as a rookie puts him on an incredible trajectory. Again, it's unlikely Clingan will be a four-time DPOY like Gobert, especially with Wemby in the league. However, Clingan is likely to be a perennial All-Defensive player and could end up winning a DPOY at some point.

Offensively, Clingan plays a similar role to Gobert as a screener and an interior threat. Clingan could work on his efficiency as he shot 53.9 percent from the field, and the Blazers could use him more as a lob threat. Still, Clingan made a solid offensive impact, averaging 6.5 points. As he progresses and earns more minutes, Clingan could be a consistent double-double threat like Gobert. Clingan also showed solid passing chops, averaging 1.1 assists as a rookie.

It's common to see second-year players make a massive leap, and Clingan checks a lot of boxes to do that, especially with Deandre Ayton in Los Angeles now. He has already shown his upside as an elite rim protector and defensive anchor. Expect Clingan to take some strides offensively while remaining elite on defense. Clingan's playstyle is eerily similar to Gobert's, and fans are likely to take notice of this in his second season.