Nique Clifford's Minutes Are Up 9.4 a Night
Over the Kings' last 10 games of 2025-26, Clifford averaged 34.5 minutes, well above his season mark.
Nique Clifford averaged 34.5 minutes a night over the Kings' last 10 games of the 2025-26 season. That stretch ran through April 12, 2026. It is 9.4 minutes more than his season average of 25.1.
The jump moves Clifford from a rotation player to someone playing starter's minutes most nights. A season average of 25.1 minutes leaves room on the bench. Nine more minutes a night, repeated over 10 straight games, does not.
Clifford's scoring average for the 2025-26 season sits at 8.6 points. That number reflects the smaller role he held for most of the year, across a 75-game schedule. If his minutes stay near 34.5, scoring is the number most likely to move next. More time on the floor tends to bring more shots and more chances to score.
For 34.5 minutes to hold, rather than slide back toward 25.1, the Kings need to keep using Clifford the way they did over these last 10 games. Ten games can reflect matchups or a short lineup change. A real shift in role would show up over more games than that, carried through the rest of the 2025-26 season.