Last year, the Knicks had the least productive bench unit in the entire league. Not only should that be different this year, but the addition of Jordan Clarkson gives the Knicks the chance to have a Sixth Man of the Year winner for the first time since JR Smith took home the award in the 2012-13 NBA season.
Speaking on Knicks Fan TV, Howard Beck of The Ringer predicted that Clarkson could win the award this season, saying, "I picked Jordan Clarkson for Sixth Man of the Year, I think that's on the table, I think that's a possibility."
It is easy to see why Clarkson would be a solid prediction for winning the award. For starters, he has won it before, taking home the honors back in 2020-21. While he might not be quite the player he was five years ago, he is still among the best bench scorers in the league. In fact, no player has scored more points than Clarkson off the bench (4,589) since 2020.
There is also the fact that the Knicks should be very good, and the East should be fairly weak. Being on a good team tends to matter to award voters. He will have plenty of opportunities with the ball in his hands running the Knicks' second unit, and there has never been a shot that didn't look good to Clarkson.
Clarkson will get shots up
Last year, Clarkson averaged 24.5 field goal attempts per 100 possessions, which puts him in the 84th percentile among players who had at least 400 total field goal attempts.
He also creates his own shot quite well, something that can't be said for most of the Knicks' reserves. Last season, 64.5 percent of Clarkson's shots were self-created, according to league tracking data. For context, out of Knicks players who had 400 field goal attempts last season, only Brunson had a higher percentage of self-created field goal attempts than Clarkson, at 83.3 percent.
Some heavy competition
While Clarkson is in a good position to compete for the award, it won't be easy. There are plenty of other worthy candidates. Payton Pritchard, who won the award last year, should be in the mix again, depending on how Boston decides to start its backcourt.
There is also De'Andre Hunter, who will have a full season with the Cavaliers to showcase how impactful he can be. Then, of course, there is Naz Reid, who won the award two seasons ago and will likely be in the discussion again.