Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton finds himself in a new position entering his sixth NBA season. After years as the team's promising youngster in the shadows of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the 25-year-old is suddenly Brooklyn's longest-tenured player.
The Nets' last two years have been filled with blockbuster trades and intense roster turnover. They're now entering a rebuild with Claxton and fourth-year guard Cam Thomas headlining the roster. When asked about his veteran status, Claxton admitted the changes in Brooklyn have been eye-opening.
“Man, it happens fast,” he said. “It’s also humbling, though, just being in the same place for going on six years. So I don’t take it for granted, and I gotta just continue to play the game the right way and continue to grow. I’m just happy to still be here.”
Claxton bet on himself when he signed a two-year, $17 million contract in 2022. After emerging as one of the NBA's top defensive centers over the last two seasons, he cashed in this summer, re-upping on a four-year, $97 million deal.
The former second-round pick said a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after signing the new contract.
“It’s the first time I feel like I’m not worried about the contract. I'm not worried about staying healthy,” Claxton said. “Going back a few years with the two-year deal, I had a lot of injuries, had a lot of things take place. And the last couple of years I was able to put myself in a situation to get the contract.”
“Now I just need to go out there and have fun playing the game of basketball. I just wanna feel like a kid again and just enjoy this with a younger group. I’m excited to see what it looks like. It’s a new system, so I’m also going to be learning a lot. I’m ready.”
Nic Claxton prepping for expanded role with Nets in 2024-25
Claxton will step into an expanded role for the rebuilding Nets this season.
Upon joining Brooklyn, head coach Jordi Fernandez said he thinks the Georgia product will win Defensive Player of the Year. Offensively, the Nets are severely lacking shot creation after trading Mikal Bridges. The team hopes the sixth-year center can shoulder some of that burden while acting as a hub in the halfcourt.
Doing so will require Claxton, who ranked sixth on the Nets in points per game (11.8) and ninth in assists per game (2.1) last season, to improve as a playmaker and self-creator. The Nets are confident the big man can take those steps.
“Nic is no longer the young kid,” Fernandez said at Media Day. “When you think about the prime of a basketball player, I think they say 25-26, so he's right there. Obviously our commitment with him, he was our priority this summer. So his role, his leadership, that's what's going to change. Right now, he has to be an example for the younger guys.
“Then we all also have personal goals. He should be there for Defensive Player of the Year. His playmaking should go up. We'll play through him with dribble handoffs, catches at the elbow. He's pretty good at playmaking for others and putting pressure on the rim… So [we're] very excited, because he's going to be important piece for us.”
A contract worth nearly $100 million comes with such two-way responsibilities. Despite this, Claxton isn't feeling added expectations entering year one of his new deal.
“If there was a time for me to be worrying about anything it was when I didn’t have a contract,” he said. “Now that I do have a contract, I can just go play, have fun, do what I was doing before, and just keep trying to add layers to my game.”
After missing all four of Brooklyn's preseason games with a hamstring injury, Claxton returned to practice and is on track to play in the season opener. The new-look Nets will begin their 2024-25 campaign on Wednesday with a road matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.