Nique Clifford looks like a smart NBA Draft gamble

Nique Clifford enters the league as a potential Swiss Army knife and a statsheet to prove he can shoot, drive, pass, rebound, and defend at promising levels. (All hyperlinks in this profile are video clips showcasing the skills discussed.) He averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals a game last year while shooting 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from deep – he led the Colorado State Rams in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and shots. At 6’5 without shoes, a 6’8 wingspan, and real bounce to his game, he’s an actual-to-goodness NBA wing, a position the Sacramento Kings have not drafted in the 1st round since Francisco Garcia exactly 20 freaking seasons ago.

Nique had a winding road to the NBA across his five years of collegiate ball. He spent the first three years at Colorado as a defense-first role player whose shooting efficiencies may have held back his offensive touches. He transferred to Colorado State after his junior year where he earned a much bigger offensive role and took massive steps forward across the board. He tested the 2024 NBA Draft waters and was invited to the Combine, but opted to return to the Rams for his final year of eligibility, where he had his breakout season and got Colorado State within striking distance of the Sweet 16 before Derik Queen and Maryland ended their season with a buzzer beater.

On Offense

The swing skill for Nique’s success will be his shooting ability. His shot numbers fluctuated at Colorado, and in his final year with the Buffaloes he shot 37.4% from the field and 28.8% from deep. His mechanics were a big focus when he joined the Rams, and he showed marked improvement over the last two years, jumping to 52.2% from the field and 37.7% from deep in 2023-24 and 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from deep in his final year, excellent efficiencies considering his offensive usage. He showcased a deadly pull-up game and hit 47.3% on pull-up 2s and 38.8% on pull-up threes, per Synergy Sports, and hit shots off screens and off movement.

That said, as Sam Vecenie pointed out in his Draft Guide at the Athletic, Nique goes through wide stretches of consistency and inconsistency: “This year, Clifford made six of his first nine 3s, then shot 29 percent over his next 100 3-point attempts, then drilled 58 percent of his 3s in his final nine games.” He normally shoots with solid balance and excellent footwork, but he also doesn’t have a very fast shot. His ability to shoot off the catch will also be key as he finds a role in the NBA, but per Synergy Sports, he was a better pull-up deep shooter (38.8%) than he was off the catch (35.8%).

The improvement in those final two years gives hope that he’s an NBA-level shooter, and he’s got more of a track record than many of the questionable shooters Sacramento has gambled on in recent years. But it’s a skill that absolutely needs to translate for Clifford to be the steal of the draft that Scott Perry hopes he can be. Much of the rest of his on-ball game, be it his ability to attack the rim off of closeouts and playmaking skills, relies on him being a threat to shoot the basketball with success.

Clifford is a three-level scorer who is aggressive on drives to the basket and isn’t afraid of contact; he hit 66% of his shots at the rim in 2025. His length, pop, quickness, and strength allowed him to blast past defenders and power through rim protectors. Another swing skill will be his handling – his dribbling can be loose in traffic and there will be a massive jump from trying to create versus MWC opponents to doing the same verses NBA opponents. For him to become more than a role player, he’ll need to be able to create more than the straight-line drives he thrived on at Colorado State.

Clifford’s greatest skill may be his passing. He thrived at reading defenses in the pick-and-roll and in transition, and he can throw absolute darts. NBA Draft Analyst Ben Pfeifer had a great video breaking down Clifford’s playmaking ability, particularly how he could manipulate defenders before riffling unexpected passes. From the games I watched, Colorado State didn’t run a heliocentric offense around Nique—he shared handling responsibilities with sharpshooter guard Kyan Evans—and the idea of Clifford translating into a surprise large point guard in the NBA isn’t backed by his college usage or his current on-ball creation ability. But you can never have enough smart secondary playmakers on the court.

On Defense

Clifford’s game film shows a lot of reason for optimism on defense. Nique is an engaged, impactful defender who plays with physicality and focus. He is strong against contact, isn’t afraid of bodying up to dudes much bigger than he is, and is active off the ball and eager to fly in as a free safety. In addition, Clifford was also one of the best rebounders in college basketball last year; he was 10th in the NCAA in total rebounds and tied for 14th for double-doubles. It cannot be overstated how good it is to see a dude who led his team in shots also be the one who took on guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player and consistently fought hard for rebounding position. There’s a chance his defensive upside is being overstated given some player comparisons—more on that later—and he will be undersized to match up against the bigger small forwards in the NBA. But Nique’s tape just shows a dude who has strong defensive instincts and the length and strength to mix it up.

Older Prospect

Much is made of Clifford’s age: at 23 years old and having spent 5 years in college, he was the oldest player drafted in the 1st round. Having watched almost no prospect tape this season, I cannot rattle off a list of younger players who the Kings could have drafted at 24 instead. But the NBA has seen plenty of older prospects who were jack-of-all-trades in college and masters-of-none in the NBA, such as Denzel Valentine, Chris Duarte, and Chandler Hutchison. That said, the league is also full of late-blooming players (Jalen Williams, Austin Reaves, Jimmy Butler, and Desmond Bane) who all had three or more seasons in college and excelled later than their counterparts. That said AGAIN, Clifford is also older than any of those dudes when entering the NBA, so we’ll just have to see if Clifford’s extra experience makes him an immediate contributor as Perry alluded to in his press conference last week.

Many Kings fans and commentators have shared NBADraft.Net’s comparison of Nique to his new head coach Doug Christie. After hearing that one, it was hard for me—a fan who grew up with Doug as his favorite King—not to see the similar defensive motor and playmaking fire, along with Clifford and Doug’s similar size and athletic gifts. It’s impossible to predict that Nique’s on-ball defense could ever compare to one of the best defenders in franchise history, and doing so massively over inflates Clifford’s current defensive ability. But Kings fans should hope this lights a fire in both Nique and Christie to bring out the best in Clifford.

For more on Clifford, I encourage you to check out our buddy SPTSJUNKIE’s breakdown on Clifford as a prospect over at NBA Draft Network. I’m higher on Clifford’s defensive tape and upside than he was, but I also am in firm agreement on the comparison to former King Francisco Garcia (who again, was the last wing Sacramento drafted in the 1st round.