Virtually every night that the New York Knicks play, Julius Randle does something remarkable. He is the driving force behind the current Knicks resurgence and is having a great season that many NBA fans are unaware of.
People love stats, so why don’t look at what Randle is accomplishing this season? Through 29 games this season, Randle has been otherworldly for the Knicks, putting up career-highs across the board.
The 23.1 points are a career-high thanks in part to his incredible efficiency. Julius Randle is knocking down 40.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and 80.2 percent of his free throw attempts, both career-highs. His 11.0 and 5.6 rebounds per game? You guessed it, also career-high numbers. Even his 0.8 steals per game is tied for a career-high.
When you look at those stats alone, it is clear that Randle is having one of the best seasons of anyone in the NBA. When taking a deeper look, as Tommy Beer of Forbes did, Randle’s performance is truly mind blowing.
Those are not typos. Superstars Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns are not scoring as much as Randle. All-NBA performers Bam Adebayo and Joel Embiid aren’t hitting the glass as much as Randle.
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All-Star caliber point guards Jrue Holiday and Donovan Mitchell aren’t getting as many assists as Randle. His assist numbers would be even higher if the Knicks had consistent shooters around him, too. The most shocking stat is that known sharpshooters Damian Lillard and Buddy Hield aren’t knocking down 3-pointers at the same clip Randle is.
The numbers Randle are so rare, only one person has ever accomplished them before him. That would be one of the greatest players in NBA history, Larry Bird. “The Hick from French Lick” averaged more than 10 rebounds and five assists per game to go along with 40 percent from distance and 80 percent from the free-throw line during his MVP season in 1984-85.
Knicks fans aren’t even clamoring for Randle to be in the MVP discussion, even though based on these numbers, he probably should be. At this point, fans would settle for him just being named to the NBA All-Star team, with a playoff appearance hopefully in the future as well.
