Our exit interview series on the 2026 Clippers continues with promising rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser.
Basic Information
Height: 6’11
Weight: 242 pounds
Position: Center
Age: 23
Years in NBA: 1
Key Regular Season Stats (for Clippers): 4.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 10.3 minutes per game across 41 games played (0 starts) on 64/20/75.9 (0.1 3PA, 1.5f FTA) shooting splits (69.1 True Shooting)
Expectations
There were basically no expectations for Yanic coming into the season. While he was 22 years old on draft night, the report on Yanic coming out of college was that he was a very raw, toolsy prospect that was not ready for the intricacies of NBA play. Add onto that the presence of a workhorse starting center in Ivica Zubac, an immensely experienced backup in Brook Lopez, and a small-ball center option in John Collins, and the idea that Yanic would play real minutes outside of garbage time or in the odd injury-plagued game seemed far-fetched in the preseason. Most people thought Yanic would spend most of the season in the G-League getting reps and working his way through the Clippers system that way.
Reality
Reality followed expectations to start the season. Yanic was out of the rotation, though he appeared fairly regularly early on anyway due to the Clippers’ disastrous losing ways and their tendency to get blown out of games. In his appearances early in the season, Yanic looked just as raw as everyone thought he would, though his sheer size, athleticism, and effort were on display every time he checked in.
Things shifted for Yanic in late December, when Ivica Zubac went out with an injury for a handful of games. During that time, Brook Lopez was promoted to the starting unit and Yanic entered the rotation proper as his backup. After a few games without much impact, Yanic had monster back to back performances (albeit against the Kings and Jazz), with an 18 point, 6 rebound game followed by a 6 point, 10 rebound outing. When Zu came back, Yanic departed the rotation once more, though he had a huge 16 point game against the Wizards in mid-January while shooting 7-7 from the field.
By this point, fans had become enchanted by the possibility of Yanic, who was just so much more athletic and forceful than Brook Lopez (or Ivica Zubac). Thus, when Ivica Zubac was traded, while the prevailing fan sentiment was sadness over the departure of the longest-tenured player on the team, there was also a strong fan interest in seeing Yanic get a lot more minutes down the stretch of the season.
Yanic played 17 games in a row from January 25 through March 4, when he injured his foot and was later ruled out for the rest of the season with a Lisfranc fracture. During that time, Yanic continued to show flashes of real impact, with a particularly impressive showing on February 8 against the Wolves (15 points, six rebounds) being the standout. Yanic was still raw in terms of defense, with issues defending more physical players and committing silly fouls, but his ability to get offensive rebounds, block shots around the rim, and play with consistent energy was extremely valuable. It was still a small sample size in the grand scheme of things, but it was enough to get fans excited for what Yanic would provide in year two.
Future with Clippers
Yanic is on a standard first-round rookie deal, which means next season is guaranteed (for $2.88M) and then the Clippers have team options for his third year ($3.02M) and fourth year ($5.45M). Considering the promise of his rookie season, even with the Lisfranc injury, it’s a lock the Clippers will pick up his third season option when the time comes for them to do so in fall. After that, who knows, but there’s no reason to think Yanic won’t be given the next couple of years to develop on the Clippers. Whether he becomes the franchise starting center is a harder question, but he will probably be given opportunities to claim that role in the seasons to come.
