
With the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, Randle was a complementary piece alongside stars Anthony Davis, Kobe Bryant, and Brandon Ingram. Randle never held much playmaking responsibility before this season. An elite facilitator for a big and leaps and bounds improved from the year prior But at this juncture, he’s handled the added responsibility leaps-and-bounds better than he did just one year prior. Randle met similar circumstances last season in New York as well. He’s faced countless double teams and traps to hinder his prowess and force the ball out of his hands. The straw that stirs New York’s offense, Randle draws constant attention from opposing defenses. Fortunately for Randle, he finds himself on the right side of history, as the advanced stats beautifully accentuate the historic impact Randle has made in his second go-around with the Knicks. But with varying efficiency and advanced metrics, not all stats are created equal. Innumerable players over the league’s history have managed to put up gaudy numbers. In numerous cases, general numbers alone do not tell the entire story.

But merely glancing at the traditional stats does not do his performance this season nearly enough justice. For the first time in recent memory, New York employs one of the league’s brightest stars, whose multifaceted brilliance has shouldered the team to an above-.500 record at the All-Star break.Īt face value, Julius Randle’s per-game splits are outstanding-23.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 0.8 steals all mark career-highs for the big fellow. But players capable of scoring, playmaking, and rebounding at a high level against the world’s best are at a premium.

They all do in one way or another-that’s why they’re in a league that houses the best basketball players in the world. Now, that’s not to say some NBA hoopers don’t possess elite skills. Few players actually fall under this exclusive umbrella. “Jack-of-all-trades” is an overused phrase when evaluating multidimensional NBA talent. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference, and they’ll need more heroics from Randle if they are to catch Atlanta.Knicks All-Star Julius Randle has demonstrated incredible growth in two key areas: his clever dishing and vastly improved three-point shooting. The Knicks are 4 1/2 games back of the Hawks, who currently sit in the No. Randle faced a ton of adversity early in his career, but now appears to be finding his footing in the NBA.Īnd with the Knicks needing a comeback in last night’s game, Randle delivered and gave them a much-needed win to stay alive in the playoff race. On top of winning the Most Improved Player Award for the 2020-21 NBA season, Randle continues to rise and show that he is fully capable of being a star at this level. To accomplish something that only Ewing and Anthony have done in recent Knicks history is quite an impressive feat for the 27-year-old big man. laeR8JkciFĪs the Knicks barely hang on in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, Randle leads the way and tries to keep New York afloat as the season winds down. Julius Randle joins Carmelo Anthony (twice in 2013-14) and Patrick Ewing (March 1995) as the only Knicks players with 45 points and 10 rebounds in a game over the last 30 seasons. Randle scored a career-high 46 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in last night’s game, joining Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony as the only Knicks players to have scored 45 points or more and grabbed 10 boards in a game over the past 30 seasons. In fact, Randle made some Knicks history last night in their 131-115 win over the Kings in Sacramento. He is still a dangerous presence in the New York Knicks lineup and shows that he still has a chance to be one of the best players in the game today.

Julius Randle has proven that he can still take over a game in the NBA.įor all of the question marks surrounding him early in his career, he seems to have silenced the critics and proven the doubters wrong.
