There are a lot of great Center options this year 25 years old and younger. Wendell Carter Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton, Jaren Jackson Jr., Chet Holmgren, Victor Wembanyama, Walker Kessler, Onyeka Okongwu, and there’s even more.
That is a lot of NBA starters younger than I am. A manager would be hard-pressed not to make a quality selection among bigs this season. Given that, picking the right one, at the right time will determine how well your team does this season. Given the lack of center slots on a team, tread lightly. Stay away from inefficient shooters, and bad defenders. Steals and blocks are hard to come by. Efficient field goal boosters are also the backbone of your category leagues. This position is more important than point guards to some extent. This time, this case will be made for Nic Claxton over the field.
Nic Claxton vs. Jarrett Allen (and the field…)
There is a reason for the title. Nic Claxton is woefully underrated, which is why Jarrett Allen is the comparison. Many have him in the 70s-100s, with an average on Fantrax of 50.1. Now, it is not unheard of for those who use Fantrax to be smarter about draft strategy than other outlets. This is why we do what we do, where we do it. Many major outlets and projection systems have Allen (et al young centers listed above) over Claxton. Let’s prove them right.
Points: Even
Jarrett Allen has suffered slightly from too many hands in the pot, and Mobley is on a path to step forward. Although this will show more drastic ups and downs over the course of the season, Allen does a great job cleaning up. He had 2.6 points per game on putbacks in 2022-2023. Nic Claxton had 1.8. Although the possessional basis is a bit more even, with Claxton at 1.43 Points per Possession to Allen’s 1.23. They are mostly similar rebounders, but Cleveland will put up more shots and offense than the Nets. Regardless, they are too similar, and given both will float around the 12-15 PPG range, too close to call.
Rebounds: Even
The Brooklyn Nets love drafting guys they can mold into all-around great rebounders and shot blockers. Allen has been a consistent double-double threat and has not had a rebounding percentage below 17% since his second season in the league. On the flip side, Claxton had his first over 17% rebounding percentage in his first season starting more than 20 games. Given Claxton’s ability and Allen’s team, it is safe to assume these will be close to neck-and-neck. If there was an edge, it would be Allen based on career consistency.
Assists: Even
No one has ever accused Jarrett Allen or Nic Claxton of being floor generals or unicorns. It can be relatively easy to stumble into an assist in the NBA, and passing out of the post is almost mandated. Both of these bigs have similar numbers in per-game assists and assist rates, so they cannot be picked one or the other in this category. They are not ball stoppers though, so at least over some in the category are much better options.
Stocks: Claxton
The next four sections are mostly serious and less competitive. Nicolas Claxton was an absolute monster in defensive metrics in his first full season. With nearly 3.5 steals and blocks per game, you would be hard-pressed to find many other players in the league who can put up that kind of value. In fact, there were only two other bigs that were better: Walker Kessler and Jaren Jackson Jr. They blocked a higher percentage of shots than any other big, although Claxton had more blocks per game than Kessler. This is one of the most important stats for the league, simply because of how hard it is for many players outside of big men to achieve. If there was one category to draft either player on, it would be this.
FG%: Claxton
Claxton led the league last season by 2 percent, which is huge! That kind of success is most likely a single-season occurrence. It would be incredibly tough to get to 70% on field goals in back-to-back, but expect Claxton to be well above 65%. Allen, on the other hand, has been relatively inconsistent, only posting a 67% mark once in a full season and twice in his whole career. Other than that, every single season has been below 65%, where his career average sits below. More than likely, it’s a two-pronged issue between taking more shots around the post and more three-pointers throughout a season. Regardless, the better option is still Claxton.
3PR: Claxton
Usually, you take a better three-point shooter between the two players offered as comparisons. In this case, it is worth more to a team in the long run to take the player who does not shoot any three-pointers at all. Claxton has taken 14 “threes” in his entire career, and only 2 in the last two seasons. Compared to Allen, who has taken 39 threes in three seasons, this makes it an easy decision. Claxton is not going to hurt your fantasy team’s three-point or field-goal rates any more than Allen will.
FTR: Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen is the better free-throw shooter. This is not much of a contest. Claxton has never shot above 64% in his collegiate or professional career, which is a pretty damning mark. Considering Allen is a career 70% free throw shooter on a decent amount of attempts, this is an easy decision. Like three three-point percentage, Allen will not hurt you the way that Claxton does.
Overall: Nic Claxton
This is a tough call. Both of these 25-and-under centers are incredibly quality starters and should help fantasy teams throughout the entire season. Jarrett Allen has been nothing short of consistent and plays like a 30-year-old veteran. Nic Claxton has all of the physical tools in the world to help him lead the league in blocks. As much as I love Smash Brothers, Nic Claxton is going to have to be the pick based strictly on his ability to get steals and blocks. Defensive metrics are the hardest to achieve, and the current Nets big man is a lock over the former.
Got a different take on these two players? Let us hear about it in the comments below! In the meantime check out all the great analysis in our 2023 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!