by Ryan Mercier
What a wild transformation. This applies not only to the New York Knicks but also to Julius Randle, a star in the making. In his 7th year in the league, Randle has announced himself as the alpha of a resurgent New York team starving for a winner. All of this comes after six years of some promising play with a lot left to be desired.
For those who have not watched closely, this is not simply one good player gobbling up all the stats on a middling team. Sure, the Knicks roster is not one other GMs would fight over but the entire team plays for each other. That doesn’t happen unless its best player buys in.
Make a list. What are some requirements of being an NBA Superstar? How about these:
- Scoring
- Playmaking
- Defense
- Big plays in crunch-time
- Winning
- 3-point shooting
Yeah, that’s now Julius Randle. All or most things on that list could describe LeBron James, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul. In fact, when you list out the traits of Randle this season and this season only, he’s LeBron James-lite. He is the whole team. Often times the sports world is slow to accept something until after the fact. Start to accept it.
Would you rather have Julius Randle or Paul George? Are you sure?
Night in and night out the difference from years past can be seen. His buy-in on the defensive end of the floor is incredible. Stats? Sure, Randle has averaged over 20 points before and even 10 rebounds but under different circumstances. This year as the clear go-to guy he’s reached a career-best in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. His assists per game (6.1) are DOUBLE any number he achieved previously.
Not only are the counting stats up but he’s shooting a staggering 41% from three this season on over five attempts per game. This stat was largely discussed early on in the year as something which would regress. The season is almost over, folks.
The Knicks are on a league-leading streak of eight wins in a row and currently sit as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. New head coach Tom Thibodeau has obviously had a massive impact on New York but the team needed a breakout year from No. 30 to fulfill its playoff destiny.
No, this is not an argument saying Randle is as good as Giannis, LeBron, Durant, etc. He does not have to be on a top-10, top-15 list. This is simply to say when that group ends and the Pretty Good list begins, Randle has now broken in to that Superstar group.
Struggling Actor Sports 