Even after playing a significant part in helping his hometown New York Knicks win an NBA Championship, Jose Alvarado is still hungry for more.
Admittedly, however, he's now focused on pursuing individual achievements.
During a recent interview with SLAM, the scrappy veteran told the publication that "a lot of goals" he's yet to accomplish in his career keep him motivated, specifically revealing, "I want to be in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year."
In order for him to be legitimately thrust into such an awards race, Alvarado understands he has to put in the work to up his level of play. Of course, perhaps simply entering the conversation wouldn't take much more than improving his production in the self-creating offensive department.
Knicks guard needs more scoring creation to become legit 6MOY option
In an era of play driven by offensive excellence, it should come as no surprise that having a strong scoring presence could be argued as a must for anyone legitimately trying to vie for an award such as Sixth Man of the Year.
Not since beloved former Knicks forward Anthony Mason (1995) has there been a recipient of the second-unit honor who averaged fewer than 10.0 points per game. In fact, there have only been two instances over the last 15 years in which a 6MOY has averaged fewer than 14.0 points.
Considering Alvarado is an 8.0 points-per-game scorer for his career, it goes without saying that he's got some work to do.
A way for him to up his numbers on this front and, in turn, his odds of contending for the illustrious John Havlicek Trophy could very well be by simply honing his craft when it comes to his individual scoring.
Last season, Alvarado registered in the 2.5 percentile and generated a total of eight points in iso sets, and, while with the Knicks, produced to the tune of just 6.6 points per game.
Now, despite this lackluster production, the point guard has shown flashes of becoming a willing scoring weapon, especially during New York's high-stakes NBA Finals, and, more specifically, in their historic Game 4 comeback, where he posted eight clutch points in the fourth quarter alone.
Being the Knicks clearly prioritized re-signing his services this offseason, inking him to a new three-year, $14.3 million deal, one could make the case that they're now looking to utilize all of Alvarado's on-court talents on a more regular basis.
Obviously, this means leaning in on his defensive prowess, but also his offensive skills as well.
With half a season and a full training camp under his belt heading into 2026-27, hopefully more familiarity with and overall comfort in coach Mike Brown's scheme will be realized by Alvarado.
With this, perhaps more minutes and, subsequently, a larger impact on the offensive front will be heading his way, which, if his efforts on the less glamorous side of the ball remain the same, should only bode well for his desires to legitimately enter into the Sixth Man of the Year race.
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