Knicks striker Julius Randle failed to get a triple-double, but he did get the triple crown on the All-Star Sunday.
He competed in the Skills Competition, was used as a prop in the Slam Dunk Contest and played 13 minutes in his first All-Star game.
In limited action in the main event, Randle scored two starting buckets – one in a powerful dunk – for four points and threw an alley-oop pass to Donovan Mitchell for a dunk.
“It has been a long day,” said Randle. “I am not going to lie. ”
After playing in all 38 Knicks games and leading the NBA in total minutes, he was fine with being in the background, as his Team Durant suffered a 170-150 loss to Team LeBron.
“This is great,” Randle said of his limited minutes. “I’m leading the league in minutes. It’s a great thing. Believe me, I’m fine.
“It was great. Certainly everything I imagined to be part of it. I had a lot of fun, [was] cheered up. It is something that I want to be a lot more part of. It was a great experience, the conversations. It is an experience I will never forget – the first. ”
At the break, Knicks rookie Obi Toppin asked Randle to stand beside his father so he could jump on both of them.
“I was confident, ” said Randle. “He did this about 10 times [Saturday]. [Saturday], I was worried. Today, he did so much that I had nothing to worry about. ”
On March 11, Randle was at a low point when he realized that his first season as a Knick was over because of the pandemic, interrupted before turning into his disappointing season.
Let’s move forward a year later, and Randle and his family were in Atlanta this weekend. His wife Kendra, whom he met in Kentucky, and his son Kyden, now 4, sat next to the court at the State Farm Arena on Sunday night.
That’s how life can change quickly like a Knick.
“He’s enjoying it,” said Randle of his son. “He definitely knows that it is something that is not normal and legal. He’s definitely loving it. He loves to walk around saying that he is a famous boy. He’s enjoying it. ”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said that by entering the All-Star range, Randle is playing as an “All-NBA player”. Three All-NBA teams are announced after the season and Randle’s numbers – if they continue – can easily get him there if the Knicks make it to the playoffs.
Randle, 26, admitted in a recent podcast that he cried when coaches in training voted him as an All-Star reserve for the Eastern Conference.
“It was more, as far as being named All-Star, it was more of the journey, ” Randle said on Sunday. “I have enjoyed the seven years in the league so far, the journey and the process, year after year and the toil, hard work, sacrifice, commitment throughout the process. It made me reflect and appreciate this process more than anything. ”
The Knicks are in fifth place in the East thanks to the will of Randle’s ironman.
He didn’t lose a game. He has an average of 23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He spent the past two weeks thinking deeply about how he was so disappointed that he failed as a leader in his first season during the Knicks’ confusion last season.
Now you can call on the Knicks leader, Captain Randle, although Thibodeau does not believe in awarding titles.
“It means a lot – it’s a responsibility that I really enjoy, ” said Randle. “A lot of things about my form of leadership is being vocal, but I try to set an example – how I approach work and study the game. Do things the right way. It is a great responsibility that I love to have. I hope that in the second half I will continue to do this and be the best leader I can be. Hopefully, that translates to victories. ”