The New York Knicks are on top of the basketball world, and plenty of fans in Utah have a good reason to be happy about it.
As New York captured its first NBA title since 1973 with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night, Knicks guard and former Jazz star Jordan Clarkson became part of a championship-winning team for the first time after 12 years in the league.
To make the achievement even more meaningful, the Knicks clinched the series in Clarkson’s hometown of San Antonio.
Clarkson played a total of 30 minutes in four Finals contests, scoring 10 points with three rebounds in Game 4.
During the regular season, he averaged 8.6 points per game off the bench and shot 45% from the field after signing with the Knicks last summer.
Clarkson is the first former Jazz player to win an NBA championship since Jeff Green, who played 30 games with Utah in 2019-20 before getting a ring in 2023 with the Denver Nuggets.
The only player to ever make an All-Star team with the Jazz and win a championship elsewhere is Mehmet Okur, whose seven seasons in Utah were immediately preceded by a title run with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 by defeating Jazz legend Karl Malone and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
Upon being traded to Utah in December of 2019, Clarkson quickly emerged as a fan favorite and difference-maker for the Jazz. He played in 342 games across six seasons with the franchise, averaging 17.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
Clarkson is the only Jazz player to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, scoring 18.4 points per game off the bench in 2020-21 to help Utah earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
