Kings Rookie Nique Clifford Speaks on Breakout Game vs. Cavaliers

The Sacramento Kings' rookie guard had his first career 30-point outing against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jan 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford (5) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings' losing streak has reached 12 games, and while there is mostly negativity surrounding the organization, there are a few positives from this horrible stretch. Most notably, the Kings' young players are stepping up to the plate.

The Kings have not been known for having an impressive young core, but their rookie trio is certainly proving any doubters wrong. Rookie guard Nique Clifford, who the Kings traded up to draft with the 24th overall pick, had a breakout game in Saturday's loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In a losing effort, Clifford dropped a career-high 30 points with four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks on 12-19 shooting from the field and 5-9 from three-point range. After the game, Clifford talked about his breakout performance.

"I got some good looks tonight. My teammates were finding me, putting me in good positions to score the ball. And the shots were falling tonight. You know, it was a good individual performance, but I'm not a stat guy. I really don't care unless we get the win. It was cool, but not the result we wanted," Clifford said.

Playing with some extra fire

Clifford has certainly been feeling himself lately, as he scored 16 and 14 points apiece in his last two games heading into Saturday night, but what was different against the Cavaliers? Notably, Clifford and the Kings were playing against Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder, who were just recently traded to the Cavaliers.

"I knew what type of energy he would bring, what type of time he'd be on," Clifford said about going against Schroder. "I knew it was going to be competitive, and that's what I love. I love going out there and competing, so it definitely brought the fire. Tough way to end, but it was a fun game to just compete and go against those guys."

Nique Clifford's past three games:

20.0 PTS
3.0 REB
3.7 AST
1.3 STL
1.0 BLK
55% FG
53% 3PT
87% FT
33.0 MIN

Really coming into his own while being thrown into the fire. pic.twitter.com/TuX9XKA1dl

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) February 8, 2026

With Clifford playing at this high a level, the Kings' future becomes much brighter. Their rookie center duo of Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell has already shown how impactful they can be, so adding Clifford into the mix as a high-impact rookie certainly makes things interesting.

With Clifford, Raynaud, and Cardwell showing out, and the Kings expected to land a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Kings' future is brighter than many people realize.

Getting extra opportunities

This is a huge reason why fans wanted the Kings to offload their veterans at the trade deadline, though, so guys like Clifford could get that extra opportunity and keep improving.

"Just getting reps, getting that experience, is everything," Clifford said about getting crunch time opportunities. "You only get comfortable by doing it and being in it, so that's definitely helped me. Just figuring out how to win games. Like, we're right there in a lot of these games. Figuring out how to win games and be a part of that is definitely helping me learn and grow."

Zach LaVine being sidelined certainly gave more opportunities to Clifford in Saturday's loss, and if fans had their way, this is how it would be for the rest of the season.