NBA: Power ranking all 30 starting centers on every team for 2024-25

13. Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets

Heading into the start of this season, Nic Claxton will be under pressure to perform for, really, the first time in his career. After signing a huge contract, Claxton will be expected to live up to it. And while the Brooklyn Nets don't have a ton of expectations as a team, Claxton should be one of the better players on the roster this season. Claxton is still growing as a player and is already considered to be one of the better centers in the league. Coming off a season in which he averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks per game, Claxton is still growing into the final version of the player he can be in the NBA.

The hope for the Nets is that they could rebuild on the fly and not waste too many years of Claxton's career. If Claxton can continue to play at the level he's performed at over the last two seasons, there's reason for the team to be excited about his future.

For as talented of a player as Claxton is, he's probably in that second tier of centers in the league. He's not a superstar or even an All-Star but could play a huge role in a team's success.