Nic Claxton has learned from and played alongside an impressive list of former All-Star big men over his first three seasons with the Nets, and even with one that went on to become an All-Star after leaving Brooklyn in Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen.
All of those big names are elsewhere now, finally leaving Claxton as the presumptive starter in the middle on a team with championship aspirations.
“It’s been a lot of guys: [Andre] Drummond, [Blake] Griffin, [LaMarcus] Aldridge, DeAndre [Jordan], Jarrett,” Claxton said after Nets practice Saturday in Brooklyn. “I just took bits and pieces from everybody’s game. Especially the veterans, I listened to them, and now I’m ready to just show my own self and do my own thing.
“I feel a lot better, just mentally and physically. I feel a lot more confident now going into the preseason and just ready to get everything started.”
Four-time All-Star Paul Millsap was another frontline player who served as a teammate for half of last season before his inclusion in the James Harden-Ben Simmons blockbuster trade with the 76ers in February. Millsap and Aldridge remain unsigned, Drummond landed a two-year contract with the Bulls, and Griffin agreed to a one-year deal earlier this week with the Celtics.
The 23-year-old Claxton said he also learned about daily preparation from the accomplished veterans, about “coming in every day, having a specific routine,” whether it was in the weight room or on the court.
“I’ve been working on my overall game, continuing to get stronger,” Claxton said. “I’ve worked on my shot. But I just want to build off last year and do anything that the team needs me to do.”
The 6-foot-11 Claxton added that training camp this season “has definitely been different” after dealing with shoulder and knee issues in previous years. He claims he put on “about 7-10 pounds” of muscle this summer after finishing the 2021-22 campaign averaging 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds over 20.7 minutes per game in 47 appearances (19 starts).
Second-year center Day’Ron Sharpe and recently signed veteran Markieff Morris are the other primary bigs on the roster.
“I just think Nic’s done a great job this summer taking a leap in his professionalism, seriousness, the passion for what he does,” coach Steve Nash said. “I think physically he’s gotten better. I think he’s a player that because of that professionalism and physical growth, you’re starting to see it come out in his game.
“So he’s still a guy we want to continue to develop and grow because we think he’s got levels that he can grow to, but he did a great job.”
In addition to adding weight, Claxton spent the summer working on his free-throw shooting. He is a career 53.9 percent shooter from the line, and he endured an ugly 1-for-11 FT shooting night in a Game 4 loss to the Celtics in the playoffs last spring.
“Last year, I probably shot like five or six different free throws, different routines,” Claxton said. “This offseason I was just working on finding one that I feel confident with. Make or miss just having that confidence and shooting it the same way every single time.
“You go out and miss a few and then somebody’s telling you this, and you listen to so many different voices. But it’s just me having that confidence in myself and sticking to my routine.”
From a team perspective, Claxton said “the vibes are definitely better” with Kevin Durant returning and Kyrie Irving no longer dealing with restrictions due to his refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Simmons also is healthy after not appearing in a game following his arrival from Philadelphia due to mental health issues and a back injury that required surgery.
“Everyone is on board,” Claxton said. “We have Kyrie, one of our leaders, for the full season, 82 games. That’s big, and [we’re] just feeling good energy. But we gotta go out there and win. Talk is cheap.”