Knicks: Comparing older versions of Julius Randle to today’s

This season, Julius Randle is putting together an All-Star caliber campaign and is undoubtedly playing the best basketball of his career. In his seventh NBA season and his second with the New York Knicks, he has improved virtually every aspect of his game.

Julius hasn’t just passed the eye-test this season, he has increased his numbers across the board and so far it is translating into wins, with New York in playoff contention in the East. He’s elevated his game so much in fact that it would be wise for the Knicks to keep him as a centerpiece in their roster-constructing plans for the future.

In the 2020-21 season, Julius Randle is averaging a career-high in points, assists, rebounds, free throw percentage, three-point percentage, field goals made, and minutes to name a few.

The New York Knicks struck gold when they signed Julius Randle in 2019, a lot of us just didn’t know it as of yet.

Randle was drafted in 2014-15 by a Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe Bryant. He played in L.A. for four seasons, steadily increasing production each year. In 2018 Randle packed his bags and headed to the Big Easy.

He spent one season in New Orleans where he posted a new career-high in points and had the best statistical season of his career thus far.

Randle’s performances on the Pelicans earned him a 3-year, $63 million deal with the Knicks in 2019 after New York struck out on notable free agency signings Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

At the time it was a divisive move.  Many fans expected a superstar caliber player to sign that offseason so when the Knicks brought in a solid but by no means showstopping player, many fans were left disappointed.

Unfortunately for him, much of that disappointment was initially directed at him, being New York’s largest offseason signing that year.

This season, he has turned that disappointment from fans into pure joy putting on a show and leading this young Knicks team in almost every game they have played so far this season.

Analytically, Randle is having the best season of his career, so we’re going to take a look at how this season compares to his time in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and his one previous season in New York.