Nique Clifford is in elite company.
With the 24th selection in the NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder took the former Vanguard standout, making him the 28th Colorado high school player to be drafted into the Association. Although the Thunder made the pick, the rights to Clifford are being traded to the Sacramento Kings via ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Clifford was a four-year standout for Vanguard, a charter school in Colorado Springs, before staying in state for the entirety of his college basketball career.
He started at the University of Colorado in 2020 and then transferred to Colorado State in 2023 to finish out the final two years of eligibility.
In high school, Clifford averaged 16.9 points and eight rebounds per game. His senior year, he went for 24.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.
He nearly averaged a double-double his senior year with the Rams as he scored 18.9 points per game and grabbed 9.6 boards.
This is the second year in a row that a Colorado high school player has been taken as Prairie View’s Dalton Knecht was drafted 17th by the Los Angeles Lakers last year.
This is the first time that Colorado players were taken in consecutive NBA Drafts since a three-year stretch from 1997-99.
In 1997, the Boston Celtics took George Washington’s Chauncey Billups at No. 3. Lewis-Palmer’s Pat Garrity was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 19 in 1998 and Cherry Creek’s Michael Ruffin went to the Chicago Bulls at No. 32 in 1999.
