The New York Knicks have a deep stock of talent at the guard position, led most notably by the reigning NBA Finals MVP in point guard Jalen Brunson. Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and reserve sharpshooter Landry Shamet profile more as wings than guards, particularly when deployed in some combination alongside Brunson.
Miles McBride, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, and Tyler Kolek round out the rest of the team's depth at guard. They're all very much point guard-sized players, regardless of who they're playing with. They don't all necessarily play like traditional floor generals on the Knicks, though.
New York has joined the rest of the NBA in securing better floor spacing, and deploying more skilled lineups, by playing multiple guards together. McBride excels at complementing the Knicks' stars from a 3-and-D perspective, which mitigates his relative weaknesses as a traditional ball-handler or shot creator.
Last season, another Knick guard in Clarkson saved his own place in Mike Brown's rotation by slowly transitioning his style of play from ball-dominant scoring guard to off-ball margin marauder. The late-career switch from Clarkson was the exact kind of sacrifice New York needed as they looked to end their championship drought. And it also laid the groundwork for Clarkson to find himself back in Brown's nightly plans throughout the team's 2026-27 campaign to defend their title.
Clarkson grew into his new role the hard way -- but it paid off
The Knicks made it further in the 2025 NBA Playoffs than they had in a quarter of a century. Afterwards, they added Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson in free agency.
Neither signing panned out as planned, with both veterans finding themselves on the outside of Brown's rotation by the middle of the season. Yabusele helped the Knicks add Jose Alvarado by finding himself on a different roster by February.
When New York put the crosstown Brooklyn Nets on the wrong side of a historic beatdown, Clarkson didn't play until the orange-and-blue lead grew to 40 points. After the game, he told the New York Daily News' Kristian Winfield that he saw the proverbial writing on the wall.
“I read the room. I see what it is...I’m not gonna go in there and f–- the game up. I’m just gonna try to keep continuing to play the right way and help these guys grow and continue to get better,” Clarkson explained quite transparently.
Instead of literally riding the bench into obscurity, Clarkson decided to revive his NBA career by devoting himself to becoming a role player with an unflappable motor and a savvy veteran's feel for the game on both ends of the court.
While Clarkson wasn't exactly Tony Allen on the perimeter, his increased willingness to go for steals — and even foul his matchup — completely changed his reputation as a defender. And knowing that it helped him stay on the court, even as the Knicks beat his hometown San Antonio Spurs on their way to an NBA Championship, should be all the motivation the guard needs to keep up his new ways.
Brown certainly has plenty of depth at guard going into the Knicks' title defense quest, but Clarkson's devotion to winning will help clear things up. He can be deployed next to several other guards — especially one like Brunson.
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