Fresh off their first championship in 53 years, the New York Knicks are bringing back much of the same team as last season. For their key bench players, Mitchell Robinson is gone, and Andre Drummond is taking over the role as the backup center.
After looking at one area each member of the starting lineup should hope to improve upon in 2026–27, let’s do the same for the projected first five off the bench.
Jose Alvarado — 3-point percentage
In just his third game after joining the Knicks in February, Alvarado knocked down eight of his 13 3-point tries against the Philadelphia 76ers. Otherwise, he made just 23 of his 81 attempts (28.4%) from beyond the arc in his other 27 regular-season appearances with New York.
Andre Drummond — 2-point percentage
Last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Drummond posted the lowest field-goal percentage of his 14-year career. Part of that was because he took more 3-pointers than he ever had before, but the 33-year-old also made barely more than half of his 2-point attempts. Many of his shots come at the rim, often off offensive rebounds, so the Knicks would benefit if he could convert those opportunities more often.
Jordan Clarkson — Assists
Last year, in what was his 12th season, Clarkson did things he had never done before, such as frequently crashing the offensive glass and applying full-court pressure. The 2020–21 Sixth Man of the Year has always been a score-first guard off the bench, but Clarkson’s 2.7 assists per 36 minutes in 2025–26 were about half of what he had accumulated in other recent seasons.
Miles McBride — Frequency of shots at the rim
McBride shot 41.3% from 3-point distance last season. He wasn’t much more accurate on 2-pointers, as he often attempted tough midrange jumpers instead of going to the rim. Just 6.4% of his field-goal attempts came within three feet of the basket in 2025–26. McBride also doesn’t attempt a lot of free throws due to not taking it inside all that often.
Landry Shamet — Better health
Shamet got a well-deserved long-term deal this offseason after often bouncing around the league throughout his career. Each of the last two years, Shamet has missed ample time due to serious right shoulder injuries. Over the last four years, Shamet has averaged only about 47 games played.
Apologies for not including Mohamed Diawara and Tyler Kolek, two players who will have trouble cracking the rotation unless the team is short-handed.
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