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Nique Clifford looks like a smart NBA Draft gamble

Clifford's film from Colorado State shows a versatile, high-instinct player with promising two-way upside.
By | 30 Comments | Jul 2, 2025

Feb 15, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado State Rams guard Nique Clifford (10) after a play in the first half against the Wyoming Cowboys at Moby Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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.

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TerzoM
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July 2, 2025 2:32 pm

Welcome to Basketball Hell. Jokes aside, honestly wishing you all the best.
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TheGrantNapear
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July 2, 2025 3:27 pm
Reply to  TerzoM

A room full of two narcissits and endless yes men. What could possibly have gone wrong?!

discocricket
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July 2, 2025 9:25 pm
Reply to  TerzoM

Doesn’t seem like Vivek has learned much since then.

TheBufferZone
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July 2, 2025 3:07 pm

I feel like this was a REAL targeted ad for this site haha

IMG_8190
SPTSJUNKIE
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July 2, 2025 3:25 pm

Oh man, this is seeing one of your favorite bands come back and put on an elite performance for a reunion tour.

Love the write up Bryant. Really good observations and obviously agree with a lot as you noted from my report.

And agree, that shot will be a major swing skill. It’s a bit slow and awkward and one of the bigger flags with Nique is his performance against Top 50 schools, which was materially worse than his performance against lesser programs. And a lot of that was driven by differences in his shooting against higher level competition.

My hope is that he was the focal point of the offense against those programs and playing in more of a secondary or tertiary capacity will remove some of that pressure and let him pick his spots to be more efficient. But even then, he will benefit a lot from speeding up that jumper while keeping the accuracy.

Kfan
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July 2, 2025 3:30 pm

Great write-up. Hope he ends up at least as good a the last wing we drafted in the first round.

TerzoM
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July 2, 2025 3:55 pm
Reply to  Kfan

comment image

Kfan
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July 2, 2025 3:59 pm
Reply to  TerzoM

Too soon!!!

TerzoM
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July 2, 2025 4:02 pm
Reply to  Kfan

LOL. I was not here during the Cisco years, but read he got hurt because of exercise ball explosion. That’s crazy stuff.

Last edited 11 hours ago by TerzoM
Kfan
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July 2, 2025 4:05 pm
Reply to  TerzoM

Yeah, lifting weights while on the ball. Broke his wrist I think.

BasketballHell
July 2, 2025 4:30 pm

I don’t like the pick and if Kam Jones becomes the better player who I preferred or Tyrese Proctor, then this stings. Only time will tell but the fact he is streaky and goes through inconsistencies is a fucking red flag. Where have we seen this shit before?

andy_sims
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July 2, 2025 5:20 pm
Reply to  BasketballHell

Only time will tell but the fact he is streaky and goes through inconsistencies is a fucking red flag. Where have we seen this shit before?

The only example that I can think of is everyone who’s ever picked up a basketball.

andy_sims
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July 2, 2025 5:03 pm

If anyone is doing more thorough player breakdowns than Bryant West, they’re being paid a nice pile of money. Excellent work as always, sir.

Marty
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July 2, 2025 5:27 pm

So the opposite then.
🙂

Hobby916
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July 2, 2025 5:48 pm

Apparently Schroeder was a sign and trade, absorbing him in to the TPE from the Huerter trade to the Bulls. Kinga have the full MLE to use now. Don’t know what is being sent to Detroit.

Full MLE to go make another move that won’t really matter, probably.

NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 5:57 pm
Reply to  Hobby916

The deal (as it currently stands) is a simple Free Agent signing for the full MLE, no S&T. The Kings still have the Bi-Annual which is up $5.1M (Ben Simmons anyone?)

There is a possibility that the deal turns into a Sign & Trade if the Kings and Pistons want to work something out. Any S&T would require a min 3yr deal which is what the Kings offered to Schroder. If the Schroder signing turns into a S&T, that would hard-cap the Kings (as would any other S&T) but they would get the full MLE back to use this year.

Hobby916
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July 2, 2025 5:59 pm
Reply to  NorCalKingsFan

The Deteoit Free Press just reported the sign and trade like 30 minutes ago.

rockbottom
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July 2, 2025 6:22 pm
Reply to  Hobby916

A sign and trade requires a trade . Who was traded ?

Hobby916
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July 2, 2025 6:27 pm
Reply to  rockbottom

Omari Sankofa II: Source: The Dennis Schröder signing will be a sign-and-trade between the Pistons and Kings. That will allow the Pistons to take back up to $22.6 million, or will generate a player exception worth $14.3 million if they don’t take a player back. Either way, they gain flexibility. 1 hour ago – via x.com

It could be a future pick, rights to a player, a kings player, or a 3-team deal (if that’s allowed under this CBA with a sign and trade)

Last edited 8 hours ago by Josh Hobson
NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 10:49 pm
Reply to  Hobby916

I would be happy with Thompson, Holland, or Klintman, but if they are out of reach, then I hope just we get a draft asset coming back (although I’d be fine with sending some draft asset their way for Thompson or Holland).

If we aren’t rebalancing the roster with a playable forward, I’d really rather keep Monk (I’d accept an FRP too, but I don’t think that is in the cards).

NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 10:52 pm
Reply to  NorCalKingsFan

nevermind [sad face], it would be for Kuminga, much less exciting but whatever

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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July 2, 2025 8:16 pm
Reply to  Hobby916

I could be wrong, but if he was in fact a sign and trade then the Kings are hard capped at the first apron. So using the full MLE is not even possible. This also doesn’t even take into consideration that it’s damn near certain they won’t spend in to the tax.

Now, should they somehow cut a bunch of salary, then that full MLE may come into play

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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July 2, 2025 8:18 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

I’ll add, the pessimist in me could see how cheap ass teams would intentionally commit a sign and trade so they can simply say, “Sorry, we actually can’t spend anymore, we are hard capped.”

NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 10:33 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Couldn’t they just rework the timing so that S&T is done last in the order of transactions? Considering a MLE offer is made and accepted.

SavageBeast
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July 2, 2025 7:05 pm

At least we’re getting some good young defensive players.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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Nostradumbass 14
July 2, 2025 9:31 pm

The Kings, Warriors and Pistons are discussing a three-team sign-and-trade deal involving Jonathan Kuminga and Malik Monk, a source tells @tristirodriguez.bsky.social

NBC Sports Bay Area & California (@nbcsportsbayarea.com) 2025-07-03T04:28:41.194Z

NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 10:57 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Schroder – LaVine – Kuminga – Murray – Domas
Westbrook – Ellis – Clifford – Jones – Raynaud/Eubanks

NorCalKingsFan
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July 2, 2025 10:58 pm
Reply to  NorCalKingsFan

I don’t know what they’ll do with DDR

Last edited 4 hours ago by NorCalKingsFan
Hobby916
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July 3, 2025 2:31 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Is Kuminga the type of player the Kings need? He seems like a selfish player that doesn’t play defense.

HoustonJP
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July 3, 2025 3:27 am

Blake, thank you. Awesome write up.

SportsJunkie, another excellent job on your draft report, much appreciated.

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