MILWAUKEE
Sacramento Kings guard Nique Clifford had to watch and wait for his hamstring to heal while his team struggled over the past week, but the wait is over.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee that Clifford will be available when the Kings face the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The rookie first-round draft pick has missed the past four games with a strained right hamstring.
The Kings have missed the flexibility and depth Clifford provides. Coach Doug Christie has been impressed with Clifford’s versatility, saying he can play point guard, shooting guard and small forward with the ability to defend all three positions.
Clifford, 23, came out of Colorado State as the 24th pick in June’s NBA draft. With Keegan Murray out due to a thumb injury, Clifford started in his NBA debut in Sacramento’s season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 22, posting two points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
The following day, the Kings announced that an MRI showed Clifford suffered a strained hamstring. The Kings said on Friday that Clifford had been upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s game against the Bucks. He was cleared to play after participating in the team’s morning shootaround.
The Kings acquired the draft rights to Clifford from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a top-16 protected 2027 first-round pick that originally belonged to the San Antonio Spurs. The Kings will keep the pick if it lands in the top 16. If not, it will become two second-round picks in 2027, one that belongs to Sacramento and one the Kings acquired from the Charlotte Hornets.
Clifford is a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals as a senior at Colorado State. He shot 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from 3-point range.
Clifford earned 2025 All-Mountain West Conference first-team and defensive team honors. He scored a career-high 36 points against Boise State in his final regular season game and went on to win the Mountain West tournament MVP award.
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM.
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