Kings' Rookie Shines, Shows Growth in Rico Hines Runs

Clifford, Kevon Looney, and others took the court for another day of competitive basketball down at UCLA. Clifford struggled a bit at first, often getting himself into trouble with his dribble and some lazy passing.

Despite the tough start, Nique got back on track fast as he and Looney took care of the second team they matched up against. As he settled in, Clifford looked comfortable handling the ball while showing off his versatile scoring ability.

These scrimmages are competitive, and it’s a great sign to see Nique play well, but the real test will come when the Kings open up the regular season against the Phoenix Suns on October 22nd. 

Improved Passing

I wanted to call out one specific play that is clipped above, where Nique takes a dribble hand off and makes an on-time, on-target pass to Oliver-Maxence Prosper for a three. It’s a foregone conclusion that Clifford can be a successful off-ball player in the NBA, but passes like the one above show some on-ball potential that the Kings could really use next season.

One pass doesn’t guarantee that Clifford will be able to be a consistent on-ball creator at the NBA level, but these flashes show promise that he can slot in as a lead guard at times. With Dennis Schröder as the only true point guard on the team, Clifford’s easiest path to minutes would be as a backup point guard, and the more confident he is with the ball in his hands, the easier it is for head coach Doug Christie to play him. 

Above, we see Clifford make another high-level pass over his shoulder after having his drive cut off by a defender. Despite having good size for a guard, Clifford won’t always be able to get a clean shot up against the league's best interior defenders.

Seeing Clifford keep his composure and fire another on the money pass to an open teammate after getting shut off in the lane is a great sign for the level that his decision-making has already hit at such a young age.

The other piece of this is his ability to create space for teammates with his drives, something he showed even more of in Summer League. The Kings have some talented passers and scorers, but an argument can be made that Malik Monk is the only player who may be more dynamic than Clifford with the ball in his hands. 

Off the Dribble Shooting

In this final clip, we see Clifford take his defender off the dribble and get to a comfortable spot in the key where he calmly elevates and hits the jumper over decent defense. This part of Clifford’s game really expanded during his last season at Colorado State after Isaiah Stevens left for the NBA.

Given the keys to the Rams’ offense, Clifford led the team in scoring, assists, and rebounds while nearly pushing them past Maryland for a trip to the Sweet 16. In the tournament, Clifford struggled from deep, missing all nine of the triples he took against Memphis and Maryland.

Despite his shooting struggles, Clifford still averaged 17.5 points per game in the tournament and got himself to the line 18 times. His ability to score when his jumper isn’t falling will go a long way towards him earning big minutes as a rookie with the Kings. 

It’s so easy to get excited watching offseason basketball, but everything changes when the actual season starts. The Kings have a ton of roster questions, which will only make it harder for Clifford and the other young players to even get minutes next season.

While it makes much more sense to steer into the youth of the team, signals are that the Kings are hopeful that they can compete in 2025/2026. The positive note is that Clifford has given fans and the team plenty to be excited about next season, even if he may not get the minutes he deserves just yet.