What a funny sequence for Julius Randle in New York. After a first average campaign under the orders of David Fizdale then Mike Miller, the strong winger exploded thanks to Tom Thibodeau, becoming the face of these new conquering Knicks, winning the MIP trophy, a place in the All-Star Game and an extension.
A few months later, he is again the symbol of the Knicks… but a negative symbol as the team has had a string of disappointments and is currently in 12th place in the East (23 wins – 27 losses).
While he avoids the press as much as possible, and generally seems to be in a very bad period mentally, does Julius Randle regret having extended in New York until 2026?
“I wouldn’t change a thing”, he assures. “I still want to be part of (this club). I always want to go to the end (of the process). I still want to help bring a title back to the Knicks. So I’m not going to be happy and go all out when everything is going well, but want to run away and hide when things aren’t necessarily going the way I want or the team wants. I am still committed behind all of this. I still cling to this goal. “
The title dreams expressed during the offseason by Julius Randle now seem a long way off, and the objective is now above all to save the current season, by at least reaching the playoffs.
“It’s hard, but as my boy J. Cole says, there’s beauty in suffering”
“It’s hard, but as my boy J. Cole says, there’s beauty in suffering”, continues Julius Randle. “It’s a struggle. We try to find solutions. But that’s really where you find out who the people are. That’s where you get to know the character of the guys on your team, so I’m excited because we still have a lot of games to play, and I’m excited to see how we’re going to move on and get past that. “
Because he relied on him (successfully) last season, Tom Thibodeau always shows his confidence in him, the coach repeating that Julius Randle will eventually find his best level of play.
” It’s always the same thing “, explains the player, on how he can get out of this black hole. “I will stick to my principles. I will stay true to who I am as a person. Coming, working every day, trying to be a communicative leader, with my mindset and my energy, and just trying to be positive. “
It’s not really what transpires on the field, but Julius Randle assures that the rebound is close.
” Definitively. We have the team”, he repeats. “We have the talent. We have the coach, the support. So we can definitely do that. “ It remains to be seen if this optimism is real, or if it is just window dressing. And especially if it is shared by the leaders, who could move on to major maneuvers quickly…
| Julius Randle | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | ALL | 1 | 14 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| 2015-16 | ALL | 81 | 28 | 42.9 | 27.8 | 71.5 | 2.1 | 8.1 | 10.2 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 11.4 |
| 2016-17 | ALL | 74 | 29 | 48.8 | 27.0 | 72.3 | 2.0 | 6.6 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 13.2 |
| 2017-18 | ALL | 82 | 27 | 55.8 | 22.2 | 71.8 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 16.1 |
| 2018-19 | NOP | 73 | 31 | 52.4 | 34.4 | 73.1 | 2.2 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 21.4 |
| 2019-20 | NYK | 64 | 33 | 46.0 | 27.7 | 73.3 | 2.4 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 19.5 |
| 2020-21 | NYK | 71 | 38 | 45.6 | 41.1 | 81.1 | 1.2 | 9.0 | 10.2 | 6.0 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 24.1 |
| 2021-22 | NYK | 47 | 35 | 41.2 | 30.7 | 75.8 | 1.7 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 5.0 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| Total | 493 | 31 | 47.7 | 33.5 | 74.2 | 2.0 | 7.3 | 9.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 17.5 | |
