The Kings are making moves.
Sacramento traded up into the first round of Wednesday night’s 2025 NBA Draft for the No. 24 pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder, acquiring the rights to Colorado State guard/forward Nique Clifford in exchange for a protected 2027 first-round pick, the team announced.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports and ESPN’s Shams Charania were first to report the news on draft night.
The pick the Kings are sending is the top-16 protected 2027 first-round selection they acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the De’Aaron Fox trade, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported, citing a source.
The Sacramento Kings are sending a top-16 protected 2027 first-round pick from San Antonio to Oklahoma City, per source, in exchange for the No. 24 pick and the right to draft Nique Clifford.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 26, 2025
As a fifth-year senior at Colorado State, Clifford averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 steals in 35.4 minutes per game on 50-percent shooting from the field and 38-percent shooting from deep en route to Third-Team All-Mountain West honors.
Nique Clifford’s college career ended with a strong NCAA tournament, dropping 35 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in two games against high-level competition. Though his jumper wasn’t falling, Clifford demonstrated the myriad ways he impacts winning on both ends. pic.twitter.com/vvQ9PwVR5d
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 25, 2025
The 6-foot-5, 202-pound Clifford led the Rams to a first-round upset of Memphis in the NCAA Tournament, and was viewed by some as a potential lottery pick if he were younger. Clifford’s style of play has been compared to a smaller version of NBA stars Kyle Kuzma and Paul George, as well as Jalen Williams and Ron Holland.
While only time will tell what kind of player Clifford ends up being for the Kings, the 23-year-old has the kind of college experience that could contribute to Sacramento’s upcoming season right away.
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