How Knicks’ Jordan Clarkson made NBA history by winning NBA championship

The New York Knicks came into the 2025-26 season as one of the favorites to win it all, and win it all was exactly what they did. During the offseason, the Knicks bolstered their roster following an exit in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they brought in additional depth — including Jordan Clarkson, who had spent the past few years stuck as the veteran leader for a bad Utah Jazz team.

Clarkson did not end up playing a huge role for the Knicks in the 2026 NBA playoffs, but he did show up here and there in their rotation during the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs — playing a total of 30 minutes across all five games in a series the Knicks won, 4-1, after taking a 94-90 victory in Game 5 on Saturday night.

In winning a title with the Knicks, Clarkson ended up making history, becoming the first player of Filipino descent to win an NBA championship, as pointed out by ESPN.

No matter the outcome of this year’s NBA Finals, Filipinos would have been happy. The Spurs also have a Filipino-American guard in their ranks in rookie Dylan Harper, so either way, Filipinos would have been jumping for joy.

Clarkson, of course, is the original basketball son of the basketball-loving country that is the Philippines. He’s been a solid player in the NBA since 2014, and he’s suited up for their national team multiple times — including in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which they hosted.

Clarkson’s mother is Annette Davis, who was born in Pampanga, a province in the Philippines. The 6’5″ guard out of Missouri has always been proud of his Filipino roots, and there are no doubts that he will be celebrated the next time he steps foot in the country.

The Knicks deployed Clarkson situationally in the NBA Finals, and he did score in double figures in their loss to the Spurs in Game 3.

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