Julius Randle Opens Up On Knicks Winning The Title Without Him

For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are champions of the basketball world. As a franchise that spent years in a miserable and chaotic state, the victory was a long time coming, and it has drastically changed the narrative regarding how the franchise is run.

Not too long ago, Julius Randle had similar ambitions as a co-star for the Knicks, but he never got to see it through before his trade to the Timberwolves in 2024. When reflecting on the championship in a chat with Edu Maragoni, Randle explained that he harbors no hard feelings toward his former team and that they deserve this moment after all the progress they’ve made. Despite being teammates with many of those Knicks players, Randle doesn’t consider himself part of that championship team, and he’s far too focused on his own career to insert himself into what the Knicks just accomplished.

“Ah, no, I appreciate that,” said Randle. “What the organization accomplished is great. Been a long time coming. Took a lot of hard years, a lot of different players, to build it up to what it was. It’s amazing. Definitely look forward to creating that in Brooklyn.”

Drafted 7th overall in 2014, Randle began his career as a Laker with the potential to become their future star. But after breaking his leg in his rookie debut, Julius experienced a major setback that took years to fully recover from. To his credit, Randle still ascended to All-Star status, making his first All-Star team in 2021 with averages of 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game on 45.6% shooting from the field.

From 2019 to 2024, Randle had, arguably, the best stretch of his career, but it came with many highs and lows as he struggled to play under heavy pressure. While he was viewed as a core member of the Knicks, he didn’t always get along with the fans and workers there, leading to his eventual trade to Minnesota as part of a massive three-team deal.

It was just two years after his departure that the Knicks made their latest title run, cementing their status as icons and heroes of the city. While it was not Randle’s absence directly that led to their win, they got back Karl-Anthony Towns in the deal, who has been instrumental in their recent success.

Despite Randle’s role in helping build up the Knicks (and set a championship culture in the locker room), his contributions will rarely be acknowledged in their rise to power. In fact, some fans believe his exit marked the start of the Knicks’ championship window, and he has no way to disprove that now.

Nevertheless, Julius will not resort to petty shots or subtle jabs to get back at his old team. It’s all respect from Randle, who is just happy to see the Knicks relevant again after enduring so much struggle. At 31 years old, he has enough to think about regarding his fresh start on the Nets, and there is still some hope he may yet accomplish there what he was never able to accomplish with the Knicks.