Nique Clifford frames rookie year
- Sacramento Kings rookie Nique Clifford said he viewed his first National Basketball Association season as starting at “rock bottom” after Sacramento finished 22-60, using the losing year as a chance to adjust. - Clifford, the No. 24 pick in the 2025 draft, played 75 games and started 28, averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 33.3% from 3-point range. - His comments land as Sacramento weighs a youth-led reset and questions De'Andre Hunter's $25 million final contract year after his injury-shortened Kings stint. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) (aroyalpain.com)
Nique Clifford says his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings began at “rock bottom,” and he is treating that as a starting point, not an endpoint. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) On NBC Sports Bay Area, Clifford said Sacramento’s 22-60 finish was not what he expected, but the losses gave him minutes and a fast education in National Basketball Association play. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) (basketball-reference.com) Clifford was the No. 24 overall pick in the 2025 National Basketball Association draft out of Colorado State, and he played in 75 games with 28 starts as a 24-year-old rookie. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) He averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists, and his season closed with a stronger final stretch that included 24 points against Portland on April 12 and 20 against Golden State on April 10. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) (nba.com) Sacramento’s record frames the quote as much as the player does. The Kings finished 14th in the Western Conference, missed the playoffs again and posted the franchise’s first 60-loss season since 2008-09. (basketball-reference.com) (sactownsports.com) That leaves the front office sorting through which losses were developmental and which were structural. NBC Sports Bay Area said Clifford “might have solidified himself” as a player worth keeping as Sacramento heads into the draft and offseason. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) The contrast is sharp with De’Andre Hunter, whose place in Sacramento looks far less settled. A Royal Pain reported that Hunter played only 1.5 games for the Kings before an injury ended his season. (aroyalpain.com) That report said Hunter has one year and $25 million left on his contract, and argued he has “basically faded into obscurity” in offseason discussions around the roster. (aroyalpain.com) Clifford’s version of “rock bottom” is a bad team giving a rookie real possessions, real mistakes and real tape. In Sacramento, that may be enough to move him into next season’s plans while older, pricier pieces face a harder review. (nbcsportsbayarea.com) (aroyalpain.com)
