For one night, the Nikola Jokic jerseys had some competition at Ball Arena.

You could tell from the moment No. 5 in white checked into the game this wasn’t a typical visitor’s welcome in the Mile High City.

That’s because Denver — and everyone else that came from across the state of Colorado — recognizes Nique Clifford as one of its own.

“Also checking in, No. 5, from Colorado State University, Nique Clifford,” Ball Arena public address announcer Kyle Speller said midway through the first quarter.

Clifford said prior to Monday’s 130-124 Nuggets win over the Kings he expected 200-300 people in attendance cheering him on.

It certainly was when he checked into an NBA game for the first time in the arena he knows so well — a place where, more recently, he’s come to watch close friends like Jabari Walker and Tristan da Silva play against the Nuggets.

“I was super excited,” Clifford said after the game. “I had a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement going into it, being able to play in front of all of the people that have seen me grow up to get to where I’m at now. I think that was the coolest part.”

Clifford and the Sacramento Kings will be back in Denver on Saturday, Nov. 22, for another matchup, but the Colorado Springs native and former Vanguard star is hoping these first two games are far from the only times he takes the court at Ball Arena. 

He knows the way to do that is by being himself.

After being picked by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round and traded to the Kings, Clifford is in an interesting spot. He’s on a Sacramento team with established stars on the wing in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. There are also a couple of other veteran guards in Denis Schroder and Russell Westbrook that will handle the ball a fair amount.

After shining for a Rams team that came within 3 seconds of reaching the Sweet 16 in March, Clifford is back to finding ways to fit in like in Boulder.

“Not a lot of rookies get to play, in general, so for me, I’m in a great position on the floor, getting minutes,” Clifford said. “My approach was really just to impact the game however I can. We’ve got a lot of guys that score the ball, so I’ve been just trying to approach it (by) being a defender, being a guy that brings energy, rebounding and doing the little things. 

“The offensive side will come when I get my touches, when I get my opportunities, but I just want to be an impact player for our team when I get on the court.”

Even though Monday was only the third game of Clifford’s NBA career — he suffered a minor hamstring injury that kept him out for about a week — he’s already made a good impression on his coaches. He became just the ninth rookie to start the season opener in franchise history and got extended run off the bench in the first half in Denver.

“I love him,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “He’s been pretty steely in how he goes about things. I just love having him in our uniform. He’s an incredible kid, an incredible skill set. Super excited for him. This will be a great opportunity for him (to) just go out and be aggressive.”

Clifford did plenty of that Monday, finishing with eight points, three assists, a rebound, block and even drew a charge on Aaron Gordon.

“It felt good,” Clifford said. “He was talking (trash), saying, ‘Get in the weight room’ and stuff like that. It was a fun little battle we had. Just to get in there, make an impactful play right away and kinda just set the tone for what I was trying to do for the game.”

Everything he learned at CU and CSU, respectively, has helped him become what he feels like he needs to be as a rookie.

“I feel like I can do it at a better level now because I wasn’t used to doing that at the college level at first, but going through that helped me learn how to be more impactful in my roles,” Clifford said. “Every night calls for something different. It might be your night some nights, but other nights you might not score the ball, but you gotta make an impact in some way or form if you get in the game.”

On Monday, that’s all he wanted to do. He’s spent two decades imagining himself playing in the NBA, getting starstruck by players like Kobe Bryant he idolized. Now it’s his turn to be the one kids in Colorado look up to.

“It’s everything I dreamed of,” Clifford said. “At the end of the day, these dudes are human. They’re high-level players, of course. It’s been cool to see that up close and personal, but I honestly feel like I belong right there with these guys.”

There’s only one other place he might’ve rather been: celebrating Colorado State’s season-opening win, the first as a head coach for Ali Farokhmanesh, who helped Clifford become his best self with the Rams.

“I wish I was there for that. Dang,” Clifford said.