Julius Randle’s dream wasn’t just to make it to the NBA. It became an NBA All-Star.
The dream has come true as Randle has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve to close his career year in his second season with the Knicks.
Randle will be the first Knicks player to participate in an All-Star Game since Carmelo Anthony in 2017. This year’s All-Star Game is scheduled for March 7 in Atlanta.
The eastern reserves among frontcourt players included Jayson Tatum and Nikola Vucevic. Randle defeated Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis, Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Philly’s Tobias Harris.
Kristaps Porzingis was named to the All-Star team in 2018, but never made it to the game. Shortly after being named, he ripped his ACL and never played a game for the Knicks again.
“It would mean a lot,” Randle said Tuesday after the Knicks’ morning shoot, hours before the reveal. “My goal was never just to play in the NBA. I always felt that I was going to get there. I just wanted to be the best player I could be and reach my potential. And I try to force myself to do that every day. It would certainly be a milestone. “
The league’s coaches agreed with Randle, and the Knicks striker suspected he’d gotten their respect from all the doubles teams he faced this season on his way to career numbers
Randle has played in all 31 games so far this season, with career highs in points (23.2), rebounds (11.0), assists (5.5) and minutes (36.8). He entered the season after a boring first year as a commercial bait, but now he’s anything but. The Post has learned that Randle is considered a part of the future, and the Knicks are reluctant to move him with a $ 20 million team option. Randle is a Creative Artists Agency client – who headed Knicks President Leon Rose.
‘I think I get that confirmation how [opposing coaches] play me every night, ”Randle said. “With the double teams. How they try to make a game plan. All that kind of thing. Obviously, the All-Star kink would be great. Every player strives to do that. “
Randle said that had he made it, the decision would have been made about his ‘impact on winning’. With a lightly considered roster, the Knicks went into Tuesday’s game against the Warriors 15-16. Indeed, they would be much worse without his nighttime domination, including his improvement over the three-point line, and in his decision-making and leadership. Randle didn’t make it to the playoffs in his first six seasons, but that could also change.
“Just as you grow as a player over your career, you learn how to do the little things to help the team win,” said Randle. “Trainer [Tom Thibodeau] coached me excellently and placed me in those positions. And we win with those numbers. But I think a lot of people may have counted us as a team before the year, said we weren’t going to be that good as a team. We turn heads a lot from game-to-game, so that probably has something to do with it too. “