A major question for the Sacramento Kings was the future of Nique Clifford. Surrounded by rising sophomores and new rookies, there were concerns that Clifford would get lost in the shuffle. Well, he literally shut every doubter up against the Lakers with his best performance to date.
Clifford was the Kings' lone first round draft pick in 2025. Fellow rookie Maxime Raynaud was selected deep in second round while Dylan Cardwell went undrafted and was later signed to a two-way contract. Sacramento expected a lot from Clifford, some even calling him the steal of the draft.
Things didn't quite work out that way. Like Raynaud and Cardwell, Clifford started getting a lot more minutes thanks to last year's cornucopia of season ending injuries on the Kings. Unlike Raynaud and Cardwell, Clifford didn't excel in that environment the way they did. For him, acclimation came slower.
This isn't a suggestion that he didn't play well last season, because he did. In comparison to his fellow rookies, he just was not on the same level. Sacramento needed to see him be a lot more aggressive, not to mention pushing the shot more. They needed him to be a strong 3&D wing.
Clifford delivers for the Kings on day one
Sacramento is only one game into the preseason, and Clifford already looks like a different player. He was the Kings' top scorer with 23 points. That was on 61.5% shooting from the field, 50% from three, and 60% from the free throw line. There's room for improvement, but it's a darn good start.
What was great to see was him going eight for 13 from the field. Just seeing him go for 13 shots was huge. It shows that he's starting to believe in himself as a shooter. If he keeps building that confidence throughout the season, he'll be the scorer the Kings need him to be.
On top of that, Clifford collected a couple of assists as well as nine rebounds. Even more impressive is the fact that three of those rebounds were on offense. Once he got rolling, his defense looked really good. It's more than worth mentioning that he was the only King with a positive +/- last night.
This is the Clifford fans wanted to see on the Kings' roster. After last season, it was starting to seem like he might get left behind and potentially be trade fodder. Now, he's looking like a cornerstone of the rebuild, again. Clifford just needs to take what's working and keep growing from there.
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