The Kings have picked up their 2027/28 option on second-year guard/forward Nique Clifford, general manager Scott Perry announced today (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of KCRA News).

Clifford was already on a guaranteed $3.26MM contract this season. The move locks in his $3.42MM salary for next season.

Sacramento traded into the first round of the 2025 draft to add Clifford with the 24th overall pick. The Kings sent the Thunder the Spurs’ 2027 first-round pick (top-16 protected) in that deal.

Clifford, who played for Colorado and Colorado State during his five years in college, averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.9 steals on .418/.333/.722 shooting splits in 75 regular season appearances (25.1 minutes per game) as a rookie in 2025/26.

While the 24-year-old wing was a regular part of head coach Doug Christie’s rotation last season, he has gotten off to a slow start to 2026/27. He played 17 minutes in the Kings’ season opener on Wednesday but only logged two minutes in Friday’s home opener vs. Portland and didn’t play at all in Sunday’s loss to Memphis. Sacramento is currently 0-3 after going 22-60 last season.