Nique Clifford

Nique Clifford

23-Year-Old GuardG
Sacramento Kings
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Clifford broke out as a fifth-year senior at Colorado State, averaging 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals on 49.6 percent shooting from the field and 37.7 percent from deep. The 23-year-old rookie is old for a prospect, but given how he performed during Summer League, Clifford may be NBA-ready in Year 1. He doesn't have great size, but he's an exceptional rebounder and defender. He also doesn't have an elite offensive trait, but he's an efficient scorer and playmaker. The Kings used the No. 24 pick on the toolsy wing, but his fit in Sacramento is questionable. Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis will be the Opening Night starting five. Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis are the top backups in the backcourt, so Clifford's easiest way to playing time would be in the frontcourt, where Doug McDermott is the rookie's top competition. Clifford won't have enough usage to be fantasy relevant in a minor reserve role, but he should be monitored closely, especially if the Kings fall out of the playoff picture early. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#206
ADP
Signed a two-year, $6.37 million contract with the Kings in July of 2025. Contract includes $3.42 million team option for 2027-28.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary

Clifford attended The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs and was named the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. He committed to Colorado for college and played three seasons before transferring to Colorado State, where he quickly became a star. As a fifth-year senior, Clifford averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 steals in 35.4 minutes while posting 50/38/78 shooting splits on 13.3 field-goal attempts, 4.9 three-point tries and 5.0 free-throw trips per game en route to Third-Team All-Mountain West honors. He led the Rams to a huge first-round upset over Memphis in the NCAA Tournament, and Colorado State had Maryland on the ropes in the second round before Derik Queen's game-winning buzzer-beater. Clifford looked like a polished collegiate player by his fifth season, showcasing an all-around archetype that'd make him an easy lottery pick if he was a few years younger. It didn't matter if he was facing or posting up, Clifford got to his spots at will, finishing with an array of moves regardless of how well the defense played. He was an excellent shooter off the dribble or as a spot-up option and displayed patience as a playmaker. Clifford is a plus-athlete, but he won't be able to rely on that portion of his game as much at the NBA level, especially on the defensive end. Given their style of play and time in college, Kyle Kuzma (6'9, 221 - four years at Utah) and Paul George (6'8, 220 - three years at Fresno State) come to mind when projecting Clifford's impact at the NBA level. However, Kuzma and George were both taller and heavier than Clifford coming out of college, so let's turn to Jalen Williams (6'5, 211) and Ron Holland (6'8, 205). Williams has surpassed even the Thunder's wildest dreams when they selected him with the No. 12 pick in 2022, and Holland took a redshirt year for the Pistons, whose rotation tightened after emerging as a solid contender this season. Clifford shouldn't need much seasoning and could contribute right away, but at 23 years old, he doesn't have much time to develop.

Part of first unit
GSacramento Kings
October 22, 2025
Clifford will start Wednesday's game against the Suns, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports.
ANALYSIS
Clifford draws the start in his first NBA regular season game, stepping into the starting small forward position as a result of Keegan Murray's (thumb) injury. Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Drew Eubanks make up the rest of Sacramento's starting five.
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Stat Review
2025
How does Nique Clifford compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
  • True Shooting %
    An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
  • Effective Field Goal %
    A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
  • 3-Point Attempt Rate
    Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
  • Free Throw Rate
    Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
  • Offensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Defensive Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Total Rebound %
    An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
  • Assist %
    An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
  • Steal %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Block %
    An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
  • Turnover %
    An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
  • Usage %
    An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
  • Fantasy Points Per Game
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
  • Fantasy Points Per Minute
    NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
33.3%
 
Effective Field Goal %
33.3%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
 
Free Throw Rate
0.0%
 
Offensive Rebound %
0.0%
 
Defensive Rebound %
0.0%
 
Total Rebound %
0.0%
 
Assist %
0.0%
 
Steal %
0.0%
 
Block %
0.0%
 
Turnover %
16.7%
 
Usage %
0.0%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
22.6
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.9
 
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
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How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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Average Fantasy Points
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nique Clifford See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nique Clifford See More
More Fantasy News
Logs team-high 33 minutes in win
GSacramento Kings
October 18, 2025
Clifford posted 13 points (5-12 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), seven assists, five rebounds and a steal over 33 minutes in Friday's 117-116 preseason win over the Lakers.
ANALYSIS
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Starting sans DeRozan
GSacramento Kings
October 17, 2025
Clifford will start in Friday's preseason game against the Lakers, Khobi Price of The Orange County Register reports.
ANALYSIS
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Scores team-high 19 points
GSacramento Kings
October 16, 2025
Clifford produced 19 points (8-13 FG, 1-1 FT, 2-5 3Pt), three rebounds and a steal across 20 minutes in Wednesday's 109-91 loss to the Clippers.
ANALYSIS
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Scores 15 off bench in loss
GSacramento Kings
October 10, 2025
Clifford finished with 15 points (5-11 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 3-3 FT), three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block across 26 minutes during Friday's 124-123 preseason loss to the Trail Blazers.
ANALYSIS
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Dishes out nine assists
GSacramento Kings
October 9, 2025
Clifford finished with 10 points (3-7 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT), three rebounds, nine assists and two steals across 24 minutes during Wednesday's 120-122 preseason loss to the Raptors.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could open season as starter
GSacramento Kings
October 14, 2025
Clifford is among the candidates to join the Kings' starting lineup in the 2025-26 regular season opener against the Suns on Oct. 22, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat.
ANALYSIS
Keegan Murray suffered a thumb injury earlier this month and will be sidelined for around four to six weeks, meaning the Kings have an opening in their starting lineup alongside Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis. If the Kings decide to include Clifford, the 24th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, in the starting unit, that would push LaVine to the three and DeRozan to the four, essentially assembling a lineup with four wing players and a center. Drew Eubanks, Dario Saric and Maxime Raynaud are options for that fifth-starter role as well.
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