Two Changes Kings Need Nique Clifford to Make Next Season

After being drafted 24th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2025, Nique Clifford enjoyed a solid rookie campaign where he became a key part of the roster. His numbers don’t jump out at you, but he has the makings of a solid role player who may be able to be a fourth or fifth starter on a good team.

After the Kings experimented with Clifford as a lead ball-handler, I think it’s fair to say that while he’s talented on the ball, he’s much better suited to playing off the ball. With Darius Acuff Jr. now taking the reins, there are two things that Clifford can change about his game to help the Kings make last year’s offensive woes a thing of the past.

Worst True Shooting (TS%) In The 2025-26 NBA Regular Season (Min. 500 FGA):

1. Jamal Shead — 49.1%
2. Nique Clifford — 50.5%
3. Tari Eason — 51.4%
4. Jalen Green — 51.6%
5. De'Anthony Melton — 51.8%
6. Cody Williams — 52.4%
6. Luguentz Dort — 52.4%
8. Jeremiah Fears — 52.5%
8.… pic.twitter.com/8lA5gyHHmW
— Clutch Numbers (@ClutchNumbers) July 22, 2026

Examining Clifford’s Shooting From Last Season

As you can see by the post above, Clifford was near the bottom of the league when it came to true shooting percentage. Clifford shot 42% from the field, 33% from three, and 72% from the line in his rookie season. Those obviously aren’t great numbers, but they’re far from awful. So why was his true shooting percentage so poor?

TS% = points/2(FGA+.44(FTA))

True shooting percentage takes into account both free throws and three-point shooting, as shown by the calculation above, two areas where Clifford didn’t exactly excel. Clifford was fourth on the team in three-point attempts, but he shot a lower percentage than Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder during their time with the Kings last season. While Westbrook and Schroder shooting slightly above 33% as lead guards isn’t ideal, off-guards really need to be able to space the floor in the modern NBA.

Nique Clifford 19 points on 8/13 pic.twitter.com/7fykjmBVAE
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 16, 2025

Nique also struggled to get himself to the line, landing eighth on the team in total attempts with 97. In fact, Clifford attempted just three more free throws than Devin Carter, who played nearly 1200 less minutes. Clifford has had periods where he’s aggressively looking for his own shot, but he also has lulls where he’s incredibly passive. If he’s going to be the Kings’ long-term starter at the second guard spot, he needs to find a way to keep his foot on the gas every night.

How Darius Acuff Jr.’s Addition Can Help

Last season, Nique played a ton of minutes with lineups that simply could not shoot the ball from the outside. For a player like Clifford who doesn’t project to be a top-tier shot creator, that lack of spacing can be really detrimental to his ability to score. Both Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan had solid seasons, but their playstyles don’t exactly help other guards find space when they’re on the court.

This year, Clifford will likely play a good chunk of his minutes with a very talented shot creator and shooter in Darius Acuff Jr. Acuff’s ability to score at all three levels will give Clifford more chances to attack a tilted defense. We already saw a preview of this with the game-winner that Clifford knocked down in the California Classic after Acuff was able to draw his defender over just far enough.

DARIUS ACUFF TO NIQUE CLIFFORD FOR THE WIN. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/GKaf87S3O3
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 4, 2026

Clifford isn’t a good enough ball-handler right now to consistently break defenders down off the dribble and get to the line, so his best chance of upping his free throw attempts is attacking a defense in rotation or catching the ball already on the move. When Acuff creates similar chances to the one above, Clifford will also have the ability to attack the rim and his athleticism should often allow him to get there before the weakside help can get a clean contest.

What Can We Realistically Expect From Nique This Season?

Ideally, Clifford starts knocking down more shots from behind the line and is able to sustain his aggression game after game, but it’s also possible the team, or rather fans, are expecting too much from him. At pick number 24, teams are not guaranteed a role player, let alone a starter. Before Nique, the 2024 draft yielded a solid player in Kyshawn George, but the year before was Oliver-Maxence Propser, before him Marjon Beauchamp, and before Beauchamp was Josh Christopher.

DeMar DeRozan said he “really believes [Nique Clifford] is gonna be a star in this league.”

“He’s very mature and smooth with his skillset.” pic.twitter.com/ql7Hc8zM3Z
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) October 20, 2025

The point is, the Kings might’ve gotten lucky that Nique is even as playable as he is. As long as he continues to play hard on the defensive end and rebound, he should have a spot on the Kings, and that should be considered a win. Still, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to say that Clifford has the capability of scoring 10 - 15 points per game if he’s able to simply hit more of his wide-open threes (he only knocked down 32.6% last season).

That fact alone is why I think we can expect a scoring jump from Clifford this season, and if he can even get to league average on those shots, he will open up the court for himself. If you made me give a prediction, I would say Clifford gets to at least a .250 free throw rate, knocks down 35%+ of his wide open threes, and averages at least 12 points per game.

Whether he’s the long-term starter is a different story, but I would expect him to solidify his spot as a rotation player in the league this season.

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