Kings’ Rookie Quietly Put Together Top Preseason 

The former MVP now joins a hodgepodge core made up of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Dennis Schroder, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk and more.

Even still, Clifford’s been a bright spot in Sacramento.

At 6-foot-6, Clifford started out as a collegiate role player, but eventually transferred to star at Colorado State. That move would help him to see time in a variety of roles and positions, making him a malleable guard-slash-wing.

It’s also helped him to immediately assimilate in Sacramento, where he’s scored in double figures in each of his four preseason games.

Clifford’s opener would feature 10 points and a team-high nine assists.  From there he sought to score the ball, scoring 15 points against Portland, before his best pro performance to date with 19 points on 62% shooting against the Clippers.

He capped his four-game preseason slate on Friday night with a bout against the Lakers, again going for 13 points — this time from the starting lineup — with seven assists, five rebounds and one steal.

All in all, Clifford averaged 14.3 points and 4.5 assists per game for Sacramento. He’s on the older side as a first-round draft pick, already being 23, but still massively exceeded expectations for a Kings’ team that needs all the talent it can get.

It's not yet known if Clifford will be able to break into the team's primary rotation in his first NBA season. Given their offseason, they obviously want to win games, and moving forward in playing the experienced veterans heavy minutes could be the best path to that.

But Clifford's own experience in both large and small roles, as well as his age, should help him to contribute in Sactown sooner rather than later.

The Kings open up their 2025-26 regular season with a bout against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 22.