Kings rookie Nique Clifford on coming alive in the second half of his Summer League debut

Kings rookie Nique Clifford on coming alive in the second half of his Summer League debut

Hey. Um, yeah. I mean, obviously first game out here. Were there a little bit of jitters coming in? And how do you feel like you did? I didn’t feel too much jitters, but I I definitely was a little like I didn’t know what to expect. You know, I came out a little slow, but my teammates picked me up and it was a lot of fun to just get our first game on our belt and get a win coming out of it. Dip he talked to you at halftime kind of just being a little bit more aggressive. Um, what’s kind of been like for you to try to have to adjust your mindset like that? Yeah, I mean coming in I’m trying to just play the right way and I I did come out a little tentative but you know my team needs me to be aggressive and make plays whether that’s for me or to make a play for somebody else. So my mindset’s got to be aggression and just making the right plays for everybody else. Is that is that familiar to you when when someone has to kind of all right let’s go kind of pick it up aggression? Um no it’s on me. It’s on me. I got to come out from the jump uh and be better you know that’s I came out slow and I can’t have that. So, learning lesson and I’m going to be better next game. What did you see from as difficult with the dress rehearsal from that carried into this one good and bad? I think just the the pace of the game like how fast it is. It’s a different level when you’re in the game, but we we were going hard at practice. Uh, and I think it carried over and you know, we’re picking up full court and trying to get our wind up and it’s all those different things that come together. Uh, but I thought we did a good job for our first game. You got Isaiah on your team. You got Tristan looking around over the way. Just from a familiarity standpoint, what was it like to see those guys? It’s pretty cool. Uh, you know, it’s just those are my guys, so I’m happy for them that they are in the same situation as me. Uh, it’s everybody’s dream to be in the NBA. So, to see a guy that’s close to you get to the get to his dream as well and get to compete against him at the highest level. Like, you can’t you can’t ask for much more. What did you think of the job that Max did and was the stuff you were kind of seeing in practice leading up to it, man? Yeah, Max was balling. He did a he did a hell of a job uh with showing showing his all-around game, you know, shooting it, getting to the rim, making plays for others and rebounding. Um he’s going to be great for us and it was a good it was a good showcase for his first game, but he’s got to carry it over which we know he will. Having a big like that that does, you know, play making space in the floor. How much do you feel like that opens up the game for you and everybody else? It gives you so much more space because it draws the big out. you’re able to get to the the paint more and uh you know there’s not a big man standing there the whole time so it definitely helps and he’s so skilled he’s able to make plays for others as well and he can drive it so it’s almost like we’re playing five out at times he’s talking a lot too are you listening for him each time and out there yeah definitely he he’s got a lot of ball knowledge so I definitely listen to the things he says and if I say something I know he’s going to listen as well and I feel like our whole team has that respect for each other cuz all the guys can play and got a lot of IQ. First half, you started off slow, but you finished off strong with some clutch baskets at the end. Is there a clutch gene in you that’s uh got a lot of developing to do, man? I think so. I think just I just try and make the right plays. Um, you know, I feel like I could have been more aggressive at the start and I was playing too tentative, like I said. So, I I got going towards the end. Uh my teammates definitely uplifted me and helped me keep going and uh my coaching staff as well pushed me to be better and I knew from the jump I I had to be better. So uh definitely show showed a little of that towards the end of the game but got to start out a little smoother. I don’t know if you noticed or not the first time you guys heard like the game and chances for here even here at summer league. Just what’s that support mean? That’s sweet man. That’s super sweet to hear at the summer league. Like that’s how you know you got real fans, people traveling to see you and just showing that love already. So I can’t imagine when it’s 17,000 or however many uh is at the Golden One Center. So it’s going to be crazy. That’s

Sacramento Kings rookie Nique Clifford spoke with reporters Thursday afternoon to discuss his Las Vegas Summer League debut.

He discussed heating up after a slow start, getting the first game jitters out, and more.

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