The 2025-26 Sacramento Kings are in an ideal spot, with an older roster that sits near the bottom of the standings at 5-16.
While they largely lack young players with upside, rookie Nique Clifford (23) may be the current highlight — aside from Keegan Murray (25).
The recent 24th overall pick has seen the floor in every game he’s been available for this season. In 17 showings, Clifford has averaged 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 15.8 minutes.
Partially due to previous absences from Malik Monk and others, the rookie attempted 5.9 shots in his first eight games, but that tally has dipped to 1.4 in the last nine games.
The minutes show a similar story, going from 22.1 per game to 10.4 in the aforementioned timeframe.
“I thought Nique had regressed a little bit from his aggressiveness initially,” Kings head coach Doug Christie said after Monday’s practice. “And after talking to him, I thought he was super aggressive, super confident.”
While going 2-for-2 in nearly 13 minutes of Sunday’s loss to Memphis doesn’t scream aggression, it was noticeable throughout the action. It’s easy to understand why a rookie would defer to the likes of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, and Domantas Sabonis.
But a large part of Clifford’s appeal as a prospect coming out of Colorado State was his versatility. His ability to put the ball on the deck and make plays for himself and others at 6’5 is exciting, but would go unseen if he were too passive.
“With the young players, it’s the consistency of effort and growth,” Christie said. “The willingness to make mistakes, if that makes sense. You can be reserved and not learn a lot, or you can put it all out there and then go back and figure it out. And I respect that, because it’s hard to be learning on the stage in certain situations.”
Many expect Sacramento general manager Scott Perry to shake up the top of the roster by (or even well before) February’s trade deadline, which would only open up more opportunity for Clifford to expand his game.
His current lack of minutes may not be optimal for accelerating his growth, but being mentored by Westbrook and DeRozan shouldn’t be overlooked either.
In the meantime, the Kings want Clifford to be aggressive in his limited opportunity. The more he’s able to put together promising stretches, the more likely his minutes continue to grow (at least you’d like to think).
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
Many Sacramento Kings fans are calling for the team to tank. NBA teams tank for one reason — it works.
There are, however, caveats. Tanking doesn’t ALWAYS work; it’s hard to keep fans engaged while you’re tanking, and flattened lottery odds make it more difficult than ever to land the best players in the draft.
There’s one other problem with tanking: It can take longer than you expect.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how long it’s taken four teams, the Sacramento Kings are believed to be patterning their rebuild after, to complete the job; that is, how many losing seasons did each endure before posting a winning record?
Read More:
How long will it take the Kings to go from “rebuilding” to “rebuilt”?
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
The Sacramento Kings will hit the road for a three-stop road trip that begins Wednesday night in Houston.
Sacramento will face the Rockets for the first time this season, a team that is off to a strong start and enters play against the Kings with a top-five seed in the loaded Western Conference.
Last season, Sacramento swept the season series (3-0) against Houston, winning the lone matchup at Toyota Center by a final of 113-103 on March 1st behind 21 points from DeMar DeRozan.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Houston Rockets action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 5:00 pm PT tip-off from Houston, Texas.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Wednesday, December 3rd – @ Houston Rockets – 5:00 PM PT
Saturday, December 6th – @ Miami Heat – 5:00 PM PT
Monday, December 8th – @ Indiana Pacers – 4:00 PM PT
Thursday, December 11th – vs. Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, December 14th – @ Minnesota Timberwolves – 4:00 PM PT
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