Jose Alvarado News: Minimal impact in title clincher

Updated on June 14, 2026 at 5:11pm

Alvarado provided zero points (0-5 FG, 0-2 3Pt) and one rebound over 11 minutes during Saturday's 94-90 victory over the Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Alvarado struggled to find his stroke in the championship-clinching victory while missing all five of his field-goal attempts, but he walked away with a title ring nonetheless. The energetic backup guard operated as a minor piece of the Knicks' second-unit rotation throughout the series, averaging 4.2 points and a quiet 0.2 steals across 12.0 minutes per game in the five matchups against San Antonio. After coming over from the Pelicans at the trade deadline, Alvarado spent the final months of the season in and out of head coach Mike Brown's rotation depending on the health of Jalen Brunson. Under contract for the 2026-27 season on a team-friendly deal, the 28-year-old will head into the summer slated to resume his role as New York's primary spark-plug defender off the bench.