Sports Extra: Nique Clifford’s NBA journey begins
Nique Clifford is living every athlete’s dream: he’s become a professional basketball player. It’s not something he’s taking for granted.
"I'm super thankful and blessed to be part of the organization, and what they're trying to build," Clifford said at his introductory news conference with the Sacramento Kings. "I can't be more ecstatic to be a part of something that I feel like I've worked my whole life to be a part of."
Clifford was introduced by the Sacramento Kings last week. It was a surreal moment for the Colorado Springs native who starred at Vanguard, and had his jersey retired by the Coursers. From there, he went to play basketball at Colorado, and then Colorado State, guiding the Rams to an NCAA tournament win in each of the last two seasons. Now it’s on to the next chapter of his life: NBA rookie.
"You know, it's a dream," Clifford said. "It's it still doesn't even feel real that I'm sitting here right now. You've got to take it all in and be extremely grateful for the position we're sitting in because there's probably .0001% of people in the world that get to do this."
Clifford is smart, tenacious, and versatile. He can score from anywhere on the floor. He’ll be able to defend multiple positions. This is just the start of his NBA journey, and he’s ready to prove he belongs.
"I want to contribute to winning. That's my ultimate goal. So whatever that looks like, I'm just got to approach every single day as opportunity to get better and just learn from all the knowledge and guys I have around me."
