Kings follow surprising NBA trend with their season-opener starting 5

The NBA 2025-2026 season is in full swing and there have already been some epic performances. What has been interesting is how many teams put rookies on their opening game rosters, including the Kings who started Nique Clifford in place of Keegan Murray.

Thanks to various injuries, the final preseason game saw the Sacramento Kings start an interesting lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers. But it worked, giving the Kings their sole preseason win. Opening the regular season, some of those injuries persisted, leading to a similar starting five.

Given Nique Clifford's overall performance in the preseason, it made sense to continue to use him as a starter. The same can be said for Drew Eubanks. He might not be the double-double machine Sabonis is, but he's solid on defense and definitely proved than against the Suns.

The Kings weren't the only ones starting rookies

As it turns out, starting rookies was the trend for more than a few NBA teams on opening day. The Dallas Mavericks put their number one pick, Cooper Flagg, in as their starting point guard. They got demolished by the Spurs, but Flagg turned in 10 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal.

It was a similar story in Boston where the Sixers barely beat the Celtics. Philadelphia started VJ Edgecombe, who put in 42 minutes and walked away with a record-setting performance for a starting rookie. He finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Nique Clifford didn't have as big an evening in the Kings' loss against the Suns, but his stat line was still more than respectable for his first regular season NBA game ever. He played a solid 23:41 minutes, clocking out with two points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.

Invaluable experience for Nique Clifford and the Kings

Clifford might not have come away with a ton of buckets after shooting one for three from the field. At the same time, he played hard, worked his butt off on defense, and attempted to set his teammates up for success. The kid has an impressive pocket pass, dishing out absolute dimes.

Throughout the preseason, Clifford showed nothing but poise and maturity in his gameplay. With this being his first regular season game, it's safe to assume nerves were a factor, even for him. But he needed to get this first game out of the way and he did it in style.

Continuing to start him in the absence of Keegan Murray makes sense, both in developing a strong team dynamic and in developing Clifford. Both Flagg and Edgecombe are early frontrunners for Rookie of the Year, but giving Nique big opportunities like this could help put him in the mix, too.