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Kings rookie Nique Clifford (hamstring) to miss at least one week

The injury bug isn’t showing the Sacramento Kings any mercy to start the 2025-26 season, with rookie wing Nique Clifford being the latest member of the roster to be sidelined.

Clifford, the 24th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, has been diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in one week, per the Kings.

The Colorado State product suffered the injury during Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns, a game in which he started at the small forward position. An MRI determined the severity of Clifford’s injury prior to Thursday’s practice.

Nique Clifford has a right hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in one week, per the Kings.

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) October 23, 2025

Already weathering the absences of starting center Domantas Sabonis (hamstring strain) and forward Keegan Murray (thumb surgery), Sacramento will now look ahead to a week of matchups against the Utah Jazz, reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and Chicago Bulls before re-evaluating Clifford.

The Kings are already thin at the forward and center spots, and now they will have to dig even deeper into the rotation on Friday against Utah. Keon Ellis, who played just 13 minutes during Wednesday’s loss, could see a bump in playing time, unless Sabonis or Isaac Jones (illness) return against Utah.

It’s currently unknown if Sabonis is in play for a return against the Jazz, but the star center was seen getting a workout in at Thursday’s practice. When asked about Sabonis’ potential return against Utah, Kings head coach Doug Christie smiled and said, “Anything is possible.”

With or without Sabonis, Sacramento will be even thinner at the forward spots while Nique Clifford is on the mend.

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The Sacramento Kings headed into the Mortgage Matchup Center Wednesday night for their 2025-26 regular season debut against the host Phoenix Suns without a couple of key starters.

Keegan Murray (tore UCL), Domantas Sabonis (hamstring), and Isaac Jones (illness) were all unavailable for head coach Doug Christie. Phoenix was without new additions Jalen Green and CJ Huntley.

Despite building a 20-point advantage (and 71-point first half), Sacramento was unable to contain Phoenix’s second-half shooting, as the Kings were outscored 66-45 in the second half, resulting in a 120-116 loss in Game 1.

Devin Booker recorded a game-high 31 points along with five rebounds and three assists on 10/19 shooting and 10/15 from the free-throw line.

Zach LaVine (30) and DeMar DeRozan’s (29) combined 59 points weren’t enough to get the job done, with DeRozan’s uncharacteristic five misses from the line proving crucial.

Surrending 18 offensive rebounds, committing 13 turnovers, and converting just 13/23 from the line as a team caused the game to slip away.

Nique Clifford, drafted 24th in the 2025 NBA Draft, got the start in his first NBA game. Drew Eubanks started in place of Sabonis.

Zach LaVine claimed his defense is underrated, and he had a chance to show that by being assigned to guard Booker from the jump.

As is often the case for game one, it was a chaotic first stretch of basketball for both sides. Sacramento committed three turnovers in the first four minutes of action, falling behind four points early. But, that ended up being the Suns largest lead of the half.