Nat Clifton
PF · Detroit Pistons
Seasons 1950-51–1957-58 · 8 on record · Ht 6-6 · b. 1922
★ Hall of FameAll-Star
View interactive stats & charts →
Player info
| Nickname | Sweetwater, Nat, Sweets |
|---|---|
| Position | PF |
| Number | #8 (also #19, #24) |
| Team | Detroit Pistons |
| Height | 6-6 |
| Weight | 220 lb |
| Born | 1922-10-13 |
| College | Xavier University of Louisiana |
| Seasons | 1950-51–1957-58 (8) |
Career averages
10.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.5 APG · 544 games · .361 FG% · — 3P%.
Stats by season — per game
| Season | Tm | Age | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | PER | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-51 | NYK | 28 | 65 | — | .322 | — | .532 | 7.6 | 2.5 | — | — | 8.6 | — | .364 |
| 1951-52 | NYK | 29 | 62 | 33.9 | .335 | — | .664 | 11.8 | 3.4 | — | — | 10.6 | 16.5 | .391 |
| 1952-53 | NYK | 30 | 70 | 35.7 | .343 | — | .583 | 10.9 | 3.3 | — | — | 10.6 | 15.4 | .394 |
| 1953-54 | NYK | 31 | 72 | 30.3 | .368 | — | .628 | 7.3 | 2.4 | — | — | 9.6 | 14.9 | .419 |
| 1954-55 | NYK | 32 | 72 | 33.2 | .386 | — | .683 | 8.5 | 2.8 | — | — | 13.1 | 15.4 | .439 |
| 1955-56 | NYK | 33 | 64 | 24.0 | .394 | — | .707 | 6.0 | 2.4 | — | — | 8.8 | 13.9 | .449 |
| 1956-57 | NYK | 34 | 71 | 31.4 | .377 | — | .673 | 7.8 | 2.3 | — | — | 10.7 | 12.2 | .417 |
| 1957-58 | DET | 35 | 68 | 21.1 | .363 | — | .623 | 5.9 | 1.1 | — | — | 7.7 | 10.4 | .397 |
Stats by season — totals
| Season | Tm | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-51 | NYK | 65 | — | — | 211 | 656 | .322 | — | — | 140 | 263 | 491 | 162 | — | — | — | 562 |
| 1951-52 | NYK | 62 | — | 2,101 | 244 | 729 | .335 | — | — | 170 | 256 | 731 | 209 | — | — | — | 658 |
| 1952-53 | NYK | 70 | — | 2,496 | 272 | 794 | .343 | — | — | 200 | 343 | 761 | 231 | — | — | — | 744 |
| 1953-54 | NYK | 72 | — | 2,179 | 257 | 699 | .368 | — | — | 174 | 277 | 528 | 176 | — | — | — | 688 |
| 1954-55 | NYK | 72 | — | 2,390 | 360 | 932 | .386 | — | — | 224 | 328 | 612 | 198 | — | — | — | 944 |
| 1955-56 | NYK | 64 | — | 1,537 | 213 | 541 | .394 | — | — | 135 | 191 | 386 | 151 | — | — | — | 561 |
| 1956-57 | NYK | 71 | — | 2,231 | 308 | 818 | .377 | — | — | 146 | 217 | 557 | 164 | — | — | — | 762 |
| 1957-58 | DET | 68 | — | 1,435 | 217 | 597 | .363 | — | — | 91 | 146 | 403 | 76 | — | — | — | 525 |
| Career | 544 | — | — | 2,082 | 5,766 | .361 | 0 | 0 | 1280 | 2021 | 4469 | 1367 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,444 |
Per 36 minutes
| Season | Tm | G | MPG | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | FT | FTA | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-51 | NYK | 65 | — | — | — | .322 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1951-52 | NYK | 62 | 33.9 | 4.2 | 12.5 | .335 | — | — | 2.9 | 4.4 | 12.5 | 3.6 | — | — | — | 11.3 |
| 1952-53 | NYK | 70 | 35.7 | 3.9 | 11.5 | .343 | — | — | 2.9 | 4.9 | 11.0 | 3.3 | — | — | — | 10.7 |
| 1953-54 | NYK | 72 | 30.3 | 4.2 | 11.5 | .368 | — | — | 2.9 | 4.6 | 8.7 | 2.9 | — | — | — | 11.4 |
| 1954-55 | NYK | 72 | 33.2 | 5.4 | 14.0 | .386 | — | — | 3.4 | 4.9 | 9.2 | 3.0 | — | — | — | 14.2 |
| 1955-56 | NYK | 64 | 24.0 | 5.0 | 12.7 | .394 | — | — | 3.2 | 4.5 | 9.0 | 3.5 | — | — | — | 13.1 |
| 1956-57 | NYK | 71 | 31.4 | 5.0 | 13.2 | .377 | — | — | 2.4 | 3.5 | 9.0 | 2.6 | — | — | — | 12.3 |
| 1957-58 | DET | 68 | 21.1 | 5.4 | 15.0 | .363 | — | — | 2.3 | 3.7 | 10.1 | 1.9 | — | — | — | 13.2 |
Counting stats scaled to a per-36-minute pace.
Advanced stats
| Season | Tm | G | MP | PER | TS% | USG% | OWS | DWS | WS | WS/48 | OBPM | DBPM | BPM | VORP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-51 | NYK | 65 | — | — | .364 | — | -1.7 | 1.2 | -0.4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1951-52 | NYK | 62 | 2,101 | 16.5 | .391 | — | -0.7 | 2.3 | 1.6 | .036 | — | — | — | — |
| 1952-53 | NYK | 70 | 2,496 | 15.4 | .394 | — | -1.1 | 4.4 | 3.3 | .064 | — | — | — | — |
| 1953-54 | NYK | 72 | 2,179 | 14.9 | .419 | — | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.4 | .054 | — | — | — | — |
| 1954-55 | NYK | 72 | 2,390 | 15.4 | .439 | — | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | .074 | — | — | — | — |
| 1955-56 | NYK | 64 | 1,537 | 13.9 | .449 | — | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | .067 | — | — | — | — |
| 1956-57 | NYK | 71 | 2,231 | 12.2 | .417 | — | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | .040 | — | — | — | — |
| 1957-58 | DET | 68 | 1,435 | 10.4 | .397 | — | -0.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | .017 | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 544 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15.0 | — | — | — | — | +0.0 |
PER, True Shooting %, Usage %, Win Shares (Off/Def/Total, per 48), Box Plus/Minus (Off/Def/Total) and Value Over Replacement Player.
Playoff stats
| Season | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-51 | 14 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .369 | — | .382 |
| 1951-52 | 14 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 4.6 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .398 | — | .506 |
| 1952-53 | 9 | 19.7 | 11.3 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .371 | — | .414 |
| 1953-54 | 4 | 31.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .296 | — | .363 |
| 1954-55 | 3 | 24.7 | 19.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .909 | — | 1.016 |
| 1957-58 | 7 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .579 | — | .622 |
| Career | 51 | 9.9 | 8.7 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | .414 | — | .474 |
Full postseason box-score averages by season, from every playoff game played.
Career splits
| Split | G | PPG | RPG | APG | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 243 | 10.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 176–67 |
| Away | 248 | 9.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 82–166 |
| In wins | 258 | 10.4 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 258–0 |
| In losses | 233 | 9.5 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0–233 |
Regular-season career splits by venue and result.
Career stats vs each team
| Opponent | G | PPG | RPG | APG | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL Atlanta Hawks | 58 | 10.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 36–22 |
| BOS Boston Celtics | 81 | 9.9 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 36–45 |
| DET Detroit Pistons | 52 | 10.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 29–23 |
| GSW Golden State Warriors | 82 | 9.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 48–34 |
| LAL Los Angeles Lakers | 58 | 10.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 27–31 |
| NYK New York Knicks | 9 | 11.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4–5 |
Regular-season career averages against each current franchise.
Frequently asked questions
What team does Nat Clifton play for?
Nat Clifton plays PF for the Detroit Pistons.
What are Nat Clifton's career stats?
Nat Clifton has averaged 10.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.5 APG over 8 seasons (1950-51–1957-58).
How tall is Nat Clifton?
Nat Clifton is 6-6 (220 lb).