Jordan Clarkson’s redemption has unlocked unexpected level of Knicks’ potential

The New York Knicks took an unavoidable swing for the fences when they added Jordan Clarkson to a guard-heavy rotation during the 2025 offseason. The 2021 Sixth Man of the Year offered ample reason to believe in his upside, but recent events suggested he was nearing the end of his career.

Harsh as that may seem, Clarkson wasn't exactly setting the market ablaze in free agency given his age and polarizing style of play. As fate would have it, he's elevating the Knicks' ceiling.

Clarkson played just 37 games in 2024-25 due to a bout with plantar fascitis. Given the troubling nature of the injury, as well as the fact that he turned 33 years of age roughly three weeks before the start of free agency, many questioned if he was ideal for a long-term contract.

The icing on the proverbial cake was the fact that Clarkson is a high-volume and low-efficiency kind of player whose game suits a specific type of role.

Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, Clarkson shot 42.6 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc. He increased his efficiency to 36.2 percent from distance in 2024-25, but still shot 41.3 percent from the floor and dealt with the aforementioned injury issue.

Thankfully, the Knicks took a chance on his value to their rotation with a one-year minimum contract that both permitted the struggle to find his ideal role and is rewarding them now that he's thriving.

Jordan Clarkson is finding his ideal role and elevating Knicks to higher tier

2026 has been tough for Clarkson, as he averaged 6.0 points in just 13.8 minutes on .411/.264/.808 shooting between Jan. 1 and Mar. 9. Since then, however, he's played 21.9 minutes per game and averaged 12.3 points while shooting at a clip of .557/.438/1.000.

Though the sample size is small and his efficiency is unsustainable, Clarkson has played a direct role in the Knicks going 7-0 during that time.

Clarkson has been the proverbial microwave scorer, heating up quickly and offering bursts of high-impact production. It's been a crucial development for a New York side that's struggled to find the ideal replacement for Miles McBride, who's missed the past 27 games after undergoing sports hernia surgery.

Moreover, it's helped the Knicks take pressure off of Jalen Brunson during a stretch that's seen the franchise player embrace more of a facilitating role as his shooting efficiency has wavered.

Though Clarkson might not be a nightly fixture in the rotation moving forward, he's become an essential piece of the puzzle nevertheless. His ability to generate offense has provided the source of relief New York has otherwise lacked from its scoring guards and wings, thus allowing them to focus on other areas of the game when their shots aren't falling.

In turn, the Knicks have won seven in a row and looked the part of a team that's ready to compete at the highest level come the playoffs.