Postgame Quotes: Raynaud starts, Clifford closes it out in SL debuts

Sacramento's rookies, Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford, put on a show in their Summer League debuts against Orlando.

Jul 11, 2025, 7:12 AM Updated: 9:12 am

Watch: Maxime Raynaud Reflects On His Stellar Summer League Debut 16 Pts, 5 Rebs, 2 Asts | 3 mins

Summer League is a chaotic brand of basketball, as a wide variety of players and individual goals can take away from the team aspect.

Sacramento’s 2025 Las Vegas roster seems to be a bit more cohesive. Devin Carter, the 13th pick in 2024, headlines their roster.

With returning players from their G-League championship last season, such as Mason Jones, Isaac Jones, and Isaiah Crawford, they have (relatively) experienced leaders in place.

Ironically, Skal Labissiere, who helped them win a G-League championship over the Osceola Magic, was playing for Orlando Thursday night.

Then, there’s the drafted rookies: Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud — the players most fans come to see in Vegas. And their debuts did not disappoint.

Raynaud, the most recent 42nd pick, scored 11 of Sacramento’s first 14 points.

“Just taking advantage of the gameplan,” the Stanford alum said after Thursday’s game.

“Trying to be physical on defense and then run hard. The first couple of possessions that worked for us really well, then they had to adjust, and our wings got some good shots, and I think that’s what got us started.”

Maxime Raynaud starts his #NBA2KSummerLeague RED HOT 🔥

4-4 from the @SacramentoKings 2nd rounder! pic.twitter.com/C03QuHPdK7

— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 10, 2025

Raynaud’s scoring slowed down a bit after the unsustainable, electric start, but his impact didn’t. The seven-footer began to put the ball on the deck, attack closeouts, spray to shooters, and find backdoor cutters.

“[Raynaud] plays so hard, but he’s so smart and he can play everywhere on the floor,” Mistry said.

“He’s kind of limitless in his potential, and he can affect the games in so many ways with his energy and effort, but also his skill. I really enjoyed watching him today.”

Meanwhile, Clifford came out to a slow start. But it wasn’t caused by any reckless abandonment, more so a lack of self-aggressiveness.

Mistry said he told the first-rounder to take matters into his own hands after securing rebounds, rather than looking to get into action. He had one point in the first half of the action.

“Coming in, I’m just trying to play the right way,” Clifford said postgame. “I did come out a little tentative, but my team needs me to be aggressive and make plays… my mindset has to be aggression.”

He did just that in the second half, ending his night with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block on 5/12 from the field and 1/3 from three.

Turning up his downhill aggression helped Clifford get to the free-throw line for ten attempts, converting six.

Mason Jones (17) and Isaac Jones (11) added double digits as Sacramento narrowly defeated Orlando 84-81, despite converting a mere 38.8 percent from three.

Defensive energy and pressure are going to be the name of the game for Mistry’s staff, and it’s led to them starting Vegas with a win.

“It’s definitely a pleasant sight getting the first one,” Coach Mistry said. “But the winning is a byproduct of all the processes that they went through the last four days.”

With only three additional games currently on their schedule, losing multiple games makes it all but impossible to reach the playoffs.

Next up, the Kings are set to face off Saturday against Matas Buzelis, Noa Essengue, and the Chicago Bulls at 5 P.M. PST.

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