Nique Clifford snuck up on me late last season, and the visions of a Swiss Army Knife forward became more believable after he backed up a 17 point, 10 board, 6 assist game in the NCAA tournament (in a W over Virginia) with a very comfortable showing at the NBA combine.
And then CSU point guard Isaiah Stevens went pro. It opened a door for Clifford this year and ultimately unlocked a whole new world of on-ball creation. He went from from 68 combined PnR/Iso possessions to 191 this season. And he excelled in this No. 1 option role, which illuminated both functional ball-handling to get to spots, playmaking ability (we already knew about the passing IQ from last year from his 3 APG) and three-level shotmaking off self-created moves.
Let’s back up though. What we saw last year was the play-finishing, ball-moving and rebounding, plus fairly routine defensive plays on the ball. I’m a believer in passing and rebounding translating with the right physical tools. Clifford is 6-6 with strong, broad shoulders and enough plus athletic traits. And last year he shot 60% inside the arc, a sign of finishing efficiency playing within an offense, more from off the ball. This whole package creates versatility that also points to a higher floor. It shows adaptability, maybe not upside, but a classic glue guy that can do little things without needing to be a focal point of an offensive possession.
Fast-forward to this year, and now he’s a point-forward who initiates offense, shot 57% on ISO attempts and graded in the 95th percentile in PnR PPP (per Synergy Sports). Realistically, Clifford will have to revert back to the jack-of-all-trades role he played in 2023-24 early in the NBA. But he’s still clearly become a far bigger threat to make a play with the ball.
From a scoring standpoint, I love the fact that he took and made a lot of shots in the mid-range (47-of-89). A big part of the game is finding space to make a play, and Clifford identifies that space inside the arc, where he looks very comfortable making those shorter dribble jumpers and fallaways. He made 63 pullups on 43%, better numbers and more volume than a lot of first-round guards. He shot 40% on catch-and-shoot chances as well, arguably a more important number for a player who projects to see more off-ball possessions next year .
His ball-screen passing is another obvious strength. He uses his size well to see and pass over the defense. He’s got the feel to generate gravitational pull, suck defenders toward him and hit the roller. You can just tell that he can activate a point guard’s mentality when he needs to. Despite taking over as the top option, he maintained unselfishness and moved the ball with basic reads when necessary.
Being 23 years old suggests there isn’t many more development jumps left to make. But we’re not talking about using a top 10 pick on him. Clifford feels like automatic value anywhere once most of the younger, flashier names are off the board. His fit is too good, and the improvement he’s made this season should prepare him to pose more of a threat when the ball finds him with some space in the half court.
jwscouting.com 