Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault revealed the first thing that stood out to him when observing newly acquired player Nique Clifford.
According to Daigneault, Clifford has been a really good guy, impressing his staff and the entire team, who expected him to be a contributor to the team.
Thunder Impressed With Nique Clifford’s Team-First Mentality
Daigneault said Clifford has prioritized the team more than himself since coming into the Thunder system.
“The first thing I like is not about his game. It’s him as a guy. He’s a really, really good guy. He’s a team guy. He wants to be a part of team basketball,” Daigneault said in a press conference.
“He wants to compete. He’s willing to earn what he gets. He’s got all of the marks of the makeup that we look for, which I think Sam (Presti) has done a great job of as we’ve layered guys in through the draft or through trade.”
“He tries to find people who naturally align with the way that we want to be, and he does that. And I think that’s important when you have a team that has the ethos that we have established at this point.”
“The first thing I like is not about his game. It’s him as a guy. He’s a really, really good guy. He’s a team guy. He wants to be a part of team basketball. He wants to compete. He’s willing to earn what he gets.
The Thunder acquired Clifford from the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 8, in exchange for two future second-round draft picks, a 2028 Utah Jazz second-rounder and a 2030 Minnesota Timberwolves second-rounder.
The move served as a full-circle reunion, as Oklahoma City had originally selected Clifford with the 24th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft before trading his draft rights to Sacramento for a protected 2027 San Antonio Spurs first-round pick.
Facing a severe early-season injury crisis that sidelined key starters like Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and Chet Holmgren, the Thunder tapped into their deep surplus of draft assets to buy low on the 24-year-old two-way player after he fell out of the Kings’ rotation.
To finalize the deal and clear a spot on their standard 15-man roster for Clifford’s rookie-scale contract, Oklahoma City waived guard/forward Dalen Terry.
What The Thunder Expects From Nique Clifford
Mark Daigneault also revealed what the Thunder are expecting of Nique Clifford as the team deals with injuries.
“And then as a player, there’s just a versatility to him, I think. I think he’s a guy who can defend different positions,” the Thunder coach said. “He’s good on the ball and he’s good off the ball. He’s sound on the principles on that end of the floor. And then on offense, he can play in a system, I think.”
Daigneault is optimistic that Clifford will fit in with the Thunder, who is currently led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ajay Mitchell, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Jared McCain.
“We’ll see as we go, but he seems to be a guy who can fit into what we want to do as just a plug-in guy. And, also, he’s got some secondary creation stuff that he’s shown flashes of in his career so far. He’s got a little bit of a body of work, but that’s in a different place in a different context. So, as usual, we’re gonna stay open-minded and throw him out there. He’ll declare where he’s at. He’ll do some things well, and he’ll need to pick some other things up. We’ll meet him where he is and just start trying to help him get better inside of our stuff.” Daigneault said.
Thunder Head Coach Reveals First Impression Of Nique Clifford