NY Knicks: Can Julius Randle make an All-NBA Team?

NY Knicks: Julius Randle is All-NBA 3rd Team Material

It’s a tight competition for the last forward spot on the All-NBA teams, but looking at all of the numbers, narratives, metrics, and standings, Julius Randle just might have an edge over his competition. Let’s start with one of the strongest competitors, Jayson Tatum.

Coming into this season, Randle was seen as more of a complementary player, while Tatum has been a rising star since coming to the league. Now? The playing field is level.

By just about every all-encompassing metric possible, Randle’s impact has been slightly higher than Tatum’s. Randle is higher both in VORP, Box +/-, and PIE (Player impact estimate). It’s not just the individual play, but The Celtics haven’t been able to play winning basketball this season.

There is a myriad of reasons for the Celtics’ unexpected shortcomings, and while Tatum is certainly far from being the problem, Randle has been the focal point of a team with a completely different narrative – A team exceeding expectations. Randle has very much been The NY Knicks’ main playmaker all season long – He’s played exceptional team basketball. Ultimately, the numbers don’t lie, Randle deserves an All-NBA spot over Tatum, and he deserves it over some other competitors as well.

Paul George is certainly a competitor for a forward spot. The problem with his case is that he’s been 2nd fiddle to Kawhi Leonard. For as good as George is, I’m not sure you can make an argument for someone whose numbers are lower across the board to beat out Julius Randle.

Domantas Sabonis? He’s having a fantastic year, but again, is simply just a notch below Randle in most categories. There are zero arguments to putting Domantas Sabonis over Julius Randle. Zion Willamson? He doesn’t have the same overall impact on the game that Randle does.

At the end of the day, the only thing stopping Randle from making an All-NBA team this year is injury and position-related nuances to the voting. Will Durant make it despite playing half of a season? Will they move Davis to a forward spot instead of center? Outside of those players, Giannis Antetounkmpo, LeBron James, Jimmy Butler, and Kawhi Leonard are the only surefire bets to make the teams over Randle. It’s going to be close, but Julius Randle really might be the first Knicks to make an All-NBA team since Carmelo Anthony.