“Situational Analysis” is a series of articles that seeks to examine the circumstances that most often influence an NBA prospect’s success. Each player will be scored on a scale from 1-10 in four different categories: NBA-specific skill(s), fatal flaw(s), collegiate/overseas/pre-NBA environment, and ideal NBA ecosystem.
Dominique Akai “Nique” Clifford is a 23-year-old wing from Colorado Springs who averaged 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists for the Colorado State Rams. He is expected to be selected in the middle of the first round in the 2025 NBA Draft. NBADraft.net currently has him projected at No. 12.
NBA-Specific Skills
Nique Clifford plays basketball like an adult.
One would be hard pressed to find a steadier, more productive, and polished college basketball player than Clifford last season. He did everything for the Colorado State Rams last year and did it efficiently.
If his team needed him to generate one-on-one scoring opportunities, he did it. He was one of college basketball’s best pull-up jump shooters – he gets terrific height on his jumper, and he can pull it against any type of defender.
If his team needed a spot-up 3-point threat, he did it. In his two years in Fort Collins, Clifford turned himself into a 38% 3-point shooter on high volume. His 3-point stroke – previously a weakness – now appears as if it will translate to the NBA 3-point line.
If his team needed a clutch rebound, Clifford grabbed it. He was second in the Mountain West Conference in rebounding. He crashes the boards like a center, but from the wing position.
If his team needed someone to run the offense, he did it. Clifford boosted his assist numbers to well over four per game and had a nearly 2/1 assist/turnover ratio, while handling the ball on nearly every possession for CSU.
If his team needed him to lock up the other squad’s best scorer, he did it. With long arms, a strong frame, quick hands, and a high basketball IQ, Clifford rarely found himself out of position and projects as a key contributor in any NBA team’s defensive concept.
In short, there are few holes in Clifford’s game. He projects as an ideal 3-and-D, high-IQ role player who never backs down or shies away from big moments. He might not have the wow factor or the tremendous upside of other lottery picks, but Clifford looks the part of a legitimate fifth starter or rotation piece. Think of Clifford as a slightly taller Josh Hart who can run a pick and roll.
On a scale from 1-10, Clifford’s mature approach and high floor rates at an 8.5.
Fatal Flaws
What you see is what you get with Nique Clifford. He is 23 years old and likely won’t add any huge surprises to his game at this point.
NBA scouts are always wary of a player who waits until his age 22-23 seasons to burst onto draft boards. During Clifford’s first three years at the University of Colorado, he was not on anyone’s mock drafts. He was a decent bench player who out-rebounded his position, but he often struggled to shoot consistently from the perimeter or make plays for others.
For Clifford to fulfill his NBA destiny, he will need to be a consistent, every-game, knockdown 3-point shooter. He improved greatly in this regard at CSU, but he still had games where the 3s refused to fall. He stuffed the stat sheet in both of his NCAA Tournament games this spring, but he went 0-9 from 3. Clifford will be cast in a completely different role in the NBA – one that will require four of every 10 open 3-pointers to fall.
Clifford spent much of last season dominating players less talented and younger than him. Scouts will need to determine whether his game translates to an effective fifth starter against top-tier NBA athletes.
On a scale from 1 (not a concern) to 10 (serious hindrance), Clifford’s low ceiling rates at an 8.
Pre-NBA Setting
Clifford was a legend in Colorado Springs high school hoops, winning his state’s Gatorade Player of the Year award with ease (check out Clifford’s high school box scores if you want to have your eyes pop out of your head) and quickly committed to Colorado.
Clifford wasn’t really part of the AAU circuit or the typical prep circuit that dominated the lives of his NBA prospect contemporaries. In fact, Clifford struggled to see the court much of his freshman season with the Buffaloes. He never really found his footing in Boulder, transferring to Fort Collins after his junior year.
Clifford’s game really blossomed with coach Niko Medved (now with Minnesota), who gave Clifford the skillet and let him cook. After a strong first season with the Rams, Clifford’s stock truly soared during a remarkable 2024-25 season, where he earned conference third-team recognition (if I had a vote, he earns a first-team nod without question).
If a scout wants to get a sense of the full Nique Clifford experience, watch the second half of the CSU/Maryland game from the NCAA Tournament (the one with the crazy Derik Queen game-winner). Clifford did anything/everything in that game, making key plays on both ends and draining clutch jumpers regardless of who was in front of him.
On a scale from 1-10, Clifford’s pre-NBA experience rates at an 8 – started low, but climbed steadily for the past couple years, finishing with an upward arrow pointing toward the draft.
Ideal NBA Ecosystem
At age 23, Clifford provides little value to a rebuilding team that is years away from competing for a playoff spot. With his mature/polished game, and ability to contribute as a secondary ball handler and pick-and-roll operator, Clifford would best be served by an organization with a creative coaching staff in need of additional wing depth.
NBADraft.net currently has Clifford heading to Chicago with the No. 12 pick. The Bulls, perennially members of the play-in menagerie, currently run their offense through Josh Giddey, Mataz Buzelis, and Coby White. Clifford can step in day one at either the 2 or the 3 and give this team a jolt of toughness and creativity.
Several teams on the outer edges of the lottery – San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Orlando – are all the types of organizations that would typically be in the Nique Clifford business. Sam Presti, in particular, loves these highly productive, extremely competitive, physically/emotionally mature draft prospects. Clifford would come in just a couple years under the Thunder’s median age of 25.6.
Clifford is one of the more situationally independent players in this draft class, but given his age and ready-now skillset, teams in the habit of frequently finishing above .500 should position themselves in the Nique Clifford business.
