The New York Knicks are building something special, and at the heart of it is their 26-year-old All-Star forward, Julius Randle. The Players’ Tribune recently published an article written by Julius Randle titled “Reputation”.
In the piece, Randle tore down the walls that typically block fans from getting to see the vulnerable, human side of professional athletes. Randle fully opened up about his journey as a Knick, as a basketball player, as a student of the game, and as a leader. It was a passionate and personal account of Randle’s evolution as a player and how he’s embraced his role with the New York Knicks.
It’s not just about playing at an All-Star level, it’s not just about the stats, it’s about embracing the city and all of the challenges that come with it. There’s no better place to be the hero than New York. Let’s look at Randle’s journey, and what it means to be a part of the New York Knicks.
Knicks’ Julius Randle: “I’m damn proud to be a Knick.”
Randle discussed how excited was when he first signed with the Knicks. He knew the front office had faith in him, and he wanted so badly to be the guy that could change the course of the franchise.
Of course, Randle joined the team in an offseason where many had their photoshopped images of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson in Knicks jerseys before the summer even started, only to come out without any of them. The 2019-20 Knicks seemed like a letdown before the season even started.
Still, Randle wanted so badly to live up to the big contract he was awarded. He felt like the front office believed in him to carry the team and that’s what he needed to do every night. The pressure to score, the roster around him, and the coaching didn’t mesh into a natural winning culture. He was fighting an uphill battle all season. Randle explained the mentality he had last season:
"“They’re expecting you to get your 25-to-30 tonight. That’s your JOB. So go and do your job. Stuff like that. I’m not a selfish player — never been a selfish player in my life. Always been about the team. But I had it in my head that for this team, in this situation, they were paying me a lot of money because they wanted me to get a lot of shots up.”"
Clearly, Randle was out of his comfort zone. Everyone on the team seemed to be out of their comfort zone. It was chaos.
There were many questions about what Randle’s future with the team might look like, and through it all, he put his head down and continued to work on his craft. Now, with an incredible support system around him, Randle has taken on the challenge of New York and become the city’s fearless leader.
Julius Randle is pouring his heart and soul into this Knicks’ team
Randle explained how terrible he felt about his first season in New York. It wasn’t just about his own game, he felt like he was letting the city down, and it ate at him. It drove him to put in the physical work in the gym and the mental work off the court to grow into the leader of the Knicks.
The new coaching staff continued to embrace Randle, but they also helped changed his game for the betterment of the team. Randle still gets up the most shots on the team and has the highest usage rate, except this season it’s translating into efficient production and most importantly, wins. Randle is 11th in the NBA in VORP (Value over replacement player). He’s among the best players in the game.
Randle’s individual play has obviously led the Knicks to improved basketball, but he wants to make sure things are set up for the future. He’s been vocal about how much he loves his younger Knicks teammates: Obi Toppin, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley. He’s tried to instill his work ethic into the younger guys, and it’s working.
"…If I’m telling you my main goals, and what’s been the most satisfying for me this season — it’s where we are in the standings. Now, don’t get me wrong…. it’s not where we want to be yet. It’s not where I’m hoping we can get to over the second half. But if you’re trying to make a change, then you have to start somewhere. And I think this is that start."
This is why fans are feeling so confident. This is why fans have been going crazy in the streets. It’s why they despise anyone who tries to jump ship on the team.
knicks fans are chanting mvp for every Knick that goes to the line and they were outside the garden celebrating an 18-17 record like it was a title and they’ve earned that right
— jason concepcion (@netw3rk) March 2, 2021
The city has wanted this so badly for so long – It’s not just .500 basketball, but a feeling of security that the Knicks’ future is in good hands. The Knicks are winning, they have assets for the future, cap flexibility, and a leader who won’t back down from anything. Julius Randle knows that making the Knicks into a perennial contender is the biggest challenge in the league. He knows how important this is for the city.
What it means to be a New York Knicks fan
New York is a huge place. It’s big enough that there need to be multiple professional sports teams repping the same city. The Yankees and Mets, Giants and Jets, Rangers and Islanders – While every one of these franchises seem to have a “Big brother/little brother” relationship, even the little brothers are firmly rooted in the history of the city. They’re all incredibly passionate fanbases. When it comes to the game of basketball, it’s Knicks or nothing.
Being from the city, I can attest to the fact that everyone plays basketball growing up. Whether you were good at ball didn’t matter: No New Yorker hasn’t spent a large part of their childhood playing for hours at the park on a net-less hoop, hands covered in dirt, chilling on the courts until the sun goes down.
The city of New York and the game of basketball are attached at the hip, and that love of the game is sewed into the fabric of being a Knicks fan. Knicks fandom can come in the form of raging expletives, irrational optimism, jaded pessimism, self-deprecating humor, group chats with your friends, and conversations at the deli counter.
At the end of the day, it’s called unconditional love for your team. Rooting for the Knicks is synonymous with being a New York sports fan. The majority of my childhood was spent rooting for the Isaiah Thomas’ era Knicks. It doesn’t matter how ugly it got – I’m a New Yorker, I’m a Knicks fan.
There’s a reason the basketball world feels the need to talk about the Knicks, even when they’re losing. There’s a reason it’s called the “Mecca” of basketball. It comes from the energy and love that New Yorkers have for the game and for their team.
You’ll often hear the Knicks referred to as a “Sleeping Giant” in the sports world. Well, maybe that sleeping giant is starting to wake up, stretch its limbs, and unleash its wrath on the rest of the league.
As Julius Randle said to his Knick teammates, “Get New York popping?? Get the Garden popping?? Y’all don’t even know.”