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Yahoo Sports’ Draft Live crew reacts to the Kings’ selection of Colorado State forward Nique Clifford with the 24th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Trade update.
The Sacramento Kings are trading for the #24 pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder and taking Nick Clifford out of Colorado State.
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You guys have been high on Nick Clifford.
King, I’m gonna start with you first though, and this is a player that I had the chance to cover with CBS through tons of games in the Mountain West.
I stayed up late watching him.
What a versatile talent.
Yeah, and I think that’s the word versatile.
He can do a lot.
He can play defense.
He can guard multiple positions and I don’t necessarily know if you give him a position because he can do so much offensively.
I mean, he can shoot the ball from a with a decent clip, right?
He, he can make plays, he can get to the rim, he can score, uh, he can playmate.
He has really, really good vision for his size.
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I mean when you look at it, his IQ is great.
He’s a great athlete.
I mean, he can do so much and provide so much value to a franchise.
He’s 24 years old.
He’s old.
I don’t care about that.
He can contribute immediately and he’s gonna go to a. team right here, which I think he fits in perfectly.
I, I think that you can use any team can use a guy like Nate Clifford because he can do so much.
He doesn’t necessarily have, it’s not a one trick pony.
He can play in almost any system.
He will fit in perfectly.
I don’t care about age.
Let’s get away from this whole age thing of this player is too old, he can’t contribute.
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No, Nick Clifford will be a good NBA player.
He will be really good for the Sacramento Kings.
Great pick.
How do you like this move for Sacramento.
I love it for the Kings.
I mean, I think you nailed it, King because.
with, with Nick Clifford, no pun intended there, but I’m saying with with with Clifford, man, like he, he, he can shoot it, he can pass it.
You saw in the tournament he made the go ahead pass before Derek Queen drove down the lane and won the game for Maryland over Colorado State.
But I think for him it’s interesting because he plays 3 years at Colorado in the Pac-12, didn’t do anything really those years.
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Then he transfers to Colorado State and becomes a really good player right away.
Test the waters last year in the NBA, decides to go back to school and got better at everything again.
I think he’s a perfect example of a guy where discard the age, he’s one of those guys that is just on a different trajectory from other people.
He’s not a he’s a late bloomer.
He was a late bloomer in high school, a late bloomer in college.
The shooting improvement was the key for him at Colorado.
He shot 33.8% from 3, 60.6% from the line.
Two years at Colorado State.
37.7% from 3, 77.1% from the line.
Something clicks with his jumper that opened everything up for him on the floor.
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And so for the Sacramento Kings, he’s not a point guard.
You still need a point guard, but he is a playmaker and that’s why I love the pick for the Kings.
That is a good opportunity for him as well to stay on that roster and make a difference.
100%.
And I think the thing that clicked is the confidence.
I mean, as a hooper, right, nothing changes mechanically.
No matter how many shots you get, uh, let me talk to my.
real quick, talking about one shot.
No matter how many shots you get up, it’s still the same thing.
Basketball is basketball.
You still gotta put the round thing and the round thing, right?
But at the end of the day, confidence is key, confidence is everything.
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Nick Clifford comes back to school once again.
I don’t care about his age.
Nick Clifford comes back to school and his confidence grew, which is why his percentages got better.
That’s what clicked, it was strictly his confidence and Nick Clifford for get age is gonna be a great player in the NBA.
It’s gonna be great for the Sacramento Kings.
