No. 5 successor, Kings all-around forward is enviable, averages 18.5 points per game or locks in the best team in advance

For newcomers who are new to the summer league stage, it is very normal for their performance to fluctuate. For example, Flag, Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecom, who are in the top three picks this year, have obvious performance comparisons in the two games they played. But for the Kings, who chose Nick Clifford at the 24th pick this year, there is no such trouble at all. He currently leads the Kings to a record of 4 wins and 0 losses with an average score of more than 10 points per game.

In a recently ended game, Clifford played for 31 minutes, scored 8 of 15 shots and scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists again, which made people scream. It is not easy to see players who come out of the Kings to bring the word "winning". In fact, in the first few games, Clifford has shown his extremely stable performance in the field. He scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the first game, followed by 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists in the next game, 19 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the third game, and then the quasi-triple double-double in the last game. With such performance, it is likely that it has already booked a position for the best team in the summer league.

Just from Clifford's performance in every game we can feel that he will be a very comprehensive player. The scores are very stable in every game, and they also have 12 rebounds in a single game and 9 assists in a single game. But how could such an all-round player fall to the 24th pick before being selected? This has to mention the "strange" preferences of the team in the NBA draft.

First of all, Clifford is 23 years old this year and will turn 24 in February next year, which is the biggest pain point in the NBA team's draft. They always like to choose young and extremely talented rookies. Even if they are just "breasted", the team is willing to wait for him to grow for several years, just like the Suns' 10th pick in the first round of this year, and they chose the inside player Malu Archie who is only 18 years old.

However, if an older rookie like Clifford is found to be unable to provide help to the team immediately, the value of training is not great, and it is no different from the team losing a draft pick in vain. You can refer to Kneckett, who was selected as the 17th pick in the first round of last year.

The second is that Nick Clifford is not a traditional prestigious school, and the average data per game is not convincing. After playing at the University of Colorado for three seasons, he transferred to Colorado State University. Although in his first five season, Clifford was able to hand over a game of 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals, shooting percentage reached 50%, three-point shooting percentage reached 38%, and free throw shooting percentage was 78%.

But not many people believe that Clifford is unlikely to bring such a result to the NBA, or even to the summer league. The team always expects players like Carter Bryant (selected by the Spurs at the 14th pick in the first round of 2025) who averaged 6 or 7 points on the court, but for veterans like Clifford, if they perform poorly in a game, they may deny all their efforts.

However, from Clifford's game, people can see two different characteristics from other older rookies. The first is that they always feel hungry about the game. This made him very strong on the court. Whether on the offense or defensive end, Clifford did not have the feeling of slackness after playing for a long time, which would allow him to win some opportunities for performance for himself faster in the NBA field.

and Clifford is not as physically fit as many older rookies. On the contrary, he has athletic ability above the league average at 1.96 meters. People often see him jumping high and blocking extremely difficult rebounds, or performing a dunk with a full impression. So Clifford is not completely without potential. Judging from his current playing style and defensive aggressiveness, we can completely expect him to become the next player like Josh Hart, or even Jaylen Williams.

If this is true, it has to be said that the Kings may be the big winner of this year's draft, and the jersey number Clifford chose was No. 5 that Kings core Fox had worn before, and perhaps there was some instructions in the dark. Do you think Clifford will have a chance to make a name for himself in the league in the future? Welcome to like and follow, leave a message to discuss!