Former Colorado State men’s basketball players Nique Clifford and Isaiah Stevens led the Sacramento Kings to the championship game of the NBA Summer League on Sunday.
The Kings, who were 5-0 going into the title game, lost to Charlotte, 83-78. However, the two ex-Rams made a huge impact for their team during the tournament.
Clifford, who was drafted in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder and then immediately traded to the Kings with the 24th pick last month, made his presence known upon arrival in Las Vegas.
In the Kings’ opening game against Orlando, Clifford scored 17 points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Then, against Chicago, he had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Against Phoenix, he had 19 points, three rebounds and three assists.
With his team 3-0, Clifford then had 19 points, seven rebounds and nine assists against Cleveland, and in the semifinals against Toronto had seven points, five rebounds and three assists. In the championship game loss against Charlotte at the Thomas & Mack Center, where he and the Rams won the Mountain West Conference tournament just last winter, he had 10 points and eight rebounds.
He was considered one of the stars of the summer league after averaging 15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 55.4% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers.
Stevens had two points against the Magic but heated up as the tournament went on. He had 10 points and four assists against the Bulls, and five points, seven rebounds and four assists against the Suns.
Against the Cavaliers, he had 13 points and five assists, and against the Raptors had six points, six rebounds and seven assists. In the championship game against the Hornets, he had two points and two rebounds.
As the Kings’ first-round draft pick, Clifford will be part of the team’s roster when the season begins. Stevens signed a two-way deal with Sacramento on July 8.
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