Is Donovan Clingan going to the NBA? UConn star's latest decision explored

After leading UConn to back-to-back national championships, Huskies center Donovan Clingan declared for the 2024 NBA draft on Friday. Clingan finished his sophomore season with the school and took to social media to announce his decision to enter the 2024 draft.

In the post on X (formerly Twitter), Cligan wrote about his lifelong dream to play in the NBA, which is not far from being accomplished now.

"I'll be pursuing the lifelong dream of mine to play in the NBA and will be entering my name in the 2024 NBA Draft," Clingan wrote. "It will be very hard for me to leave my brother after all the success these past two years. But the time is NOW!!"

Donovan Clingan was the key player for UConn for the last two seasons as the program won two NCAA championship titles. In the 2023-24 championship game against Purdue, Clingan, a 7-foot-2 center, was the only player expected to stop the Boilermakers' standout 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, and he indeed did what was expected of him.

In his declaration post on Friday, Clingan also discussed how special these last two years with UConn have been:

"First and foremost, BACK TO BACK National Championships is legendary! These past two years have exceeded all my dreams and expectations. I will be forever grateful for the memories created will all my brother, and I'll cherish every moment forever."

In the 2023-24 season, Clingan averaged 13.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 35 games. He also had an incredible field goal percentage of 63.9%, with a free-throw percentage of 58.3%.

As a freshman, he was included on the Big East Conference All-Freshman team. After scoring three rebounds, two steals and a block in the NCAA title final in 2023, he was expected to declare for the 2023 NBA draft. However, he returned to UConn for his sophomore year.

Donovan Clingan 2024 NBA Draft Projection

Purdue vs. Connecticut

After making 16 blocks in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, his highest since 2016, Clingan has declared for the 2024 NBA draft. According to ESPN, he is expected to be the No. 3 pick in the June draft. However, as time passes, his projection might change to the No. 1 pick as well.

The change is expected due to his dominance in the postseason tournaments and for clinching the national title two times in a row. He was mostly a bench player in his freshman season, but this year, he has been the key star player for the UConn Huskies. Being a towering presence on the court and defensively strong, Clingan has everything to offer in the upcoming NBA draft.