The Sacramento Kings have seemed flummoxed when it comes to Nique Clifford. Their sophomore wing needs minutes to continue his development, yet the Kings are avoiding that. He has put in the work, and shown improvement over last season. He has earned the chance to prove he belongs.
In their first preseason game, the Kings gave Clifford big time minutes and the ball. He validated their faith in him by nearly picking up a double-double consisting of 23 points and nine rebounds. On top of that, he shot eight of 13 from the field, which included going one for two from the arc.
For the rest of the preseason, Clifford got minutes in each game, but his actual time on the court varied dramatically. The same could be said for his performances, as his stats were much lower. Part of the reason for that was a drastic change in both usage and position for Clifford.
The Kings decided to run him as a backup point guard for Darius Acuff Jr. in the preseason. That is not a natural position for Clifford as he is a wing, to be sure. As such, his stats crashed. But the box scores don't provide that kind of context, so it looks like he just fell off instead of being tripped up.
Sacramento needs to push Clifford forward, not hold him back
His usage issues have followed him into the regular season, particularly when it comes to the minutes he's playing. Over the first four outings of 2026-2027, Clifford is averaging 4.0 minutes per game. Keep in mind that is counting the match against the Grizzlies where he was a healthy scratch.
During the course of the preseason, Clifford was averaging 22.2 minutes per game, and played well when on the wings. The reality is that his below average stats in the regular season are due to bad planning by the Kings, not Clifford underperforming in the few opportunities he is given.
The Kings asked for improvements over the offseason, and Clifford hit the lab. He put the work in, but Sacramento isn't holding up their end of the bargain. If they want Clifford to really improve, he has to be in the game as a shooting guard or small forward, not just picking up garbage time minutes.
Sacramento recently made the choice to pick up their team option on Clifford and keep him for the 2027-2028 season. That's the smart call. Now, they just need to back that up by putting Clifford on the court, pushing his development, and turning him into a clutch rotational shooter and defender.
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