The guy took a losing franchise with a pretty crappy roster to the playoffs and made all-star teams. Also he brought his family to the garden and always gave it his all and did it with a kind of passion that we hadn't seen in a long time. Before Julius I can't barely remember a close game where we came out on top at the end and with Julius there were so many fantastic wins that seemed like for sure losses for those of us who've watched. I got a lot of love for the guy and wish him the best and I guarantee the garden will give him a standing O when he comes back.
100% agree and the fact he wrote that article in the Players Tribune where he actually accepted the blame for that first season and identified what he was struggling with made him seem more human than just about any athlete I've ever seen. The dude is a real one forever.
This gets to the heart of it, Jon, and I'm grateful you said what you said here.
In the end, fans as a whole never truly got behind him - not in the way we're all behind Brunson and not even in the way a large, ardent portion of the fanbase was remained loyal to Melo. That always made me sad. At times, especially when the going got tough, I was part of it. Hell, I even thought at a particularly low point that they should trade him for Harrison Barnes and get out of the Randle business altogether. Remember those days?
But I wonder if it can be a larger lesson about fandom moving forward. Is there a way to avoid where things went with Randle at times? Can we collectively be more empathetic towards these extraordinary athletes - and people - who give us something to love, talk about and lose sleep over? I hope so.
This was going to be the season I bought a Randle jersey. In truth, I should've had one a long, long time ago.
We can say we'll try, but ultimately the masses will dictate how those moments go, and the masses usually have little interest in being "fair" to millionaire athletes.
I will be rooting for him every time he plays except against st the Knicks. He got much better at the things that were most frustrating, reducing the number of spin moves into oblivion, ball stopping and other bad habits. He played D at times and since he was our entire offense till Brunson was added it is no shock that he did not always have the energy to give 100 percent on D. He deferred to Brunson and was, based on reports, loved by his teammates while many thought he was a locker room cancer. He made the Knicks relevant and watchable again and I am sorry he won’t be around to enjoy the fruits of the seeds he planted.
my take on Julius is pretty simple - he was the most frustrating player I've ever watched BUT he also was the main driving force of the 2020 "We Here" team that provided a slight glimmer of light in literally the darkest time of our collective lives and I will never ever forget that. To me, Julius will forever be a Knick just based on that one magical and emotional season.
He'll always be one of my favorite Knicks, he could never get past the initial fan disappointment of not being Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving & Zion. I always thought fans blamed Randle for not being a Star even though he was a basketbrawler putting up 20+/10/5 every night.
Julius is such a fascinating and unique case among New York athletes. Think about it - if after the Knicks signed him, we were told he’d get three All-Star selections, make two All-NBA teams, and the team would have the success that it did, plus (the thumbs-down aside), he’d embrace New York and be genuinely liked and respected by his teammates, we’d have signed up for that immediately. I can’t think of anyone like that who’s been so polarizing.
Despite his warts on the court, I’ll always look fondly on his time here and wish him the best.
Always like Julius...just dont think he fit with this team anymore....and you can usually tell what kind of man someone is by their kids...and that look on Kydens face everytime he looks at his dad is priceless....Good Luck
The Patrick Ewing comparison is an interesting one but…Ewing always hauled ass back on defense and his effort was never questioned for one moment. That being said I’ll remember Randle as a maddening but talented player who was a critical transition piece in our franchise’s ultimate rebound. He was surrounded by garbage talent for a stretch and managed to carry the team on his back to the playoffs and regained hope which many of us had lost. No small thing. Thanks Ju. Hoping for health & happiness for you and your family.
What I was really trying to say is that if a significant portion of this fan base turned on perhaps the greatest Knick of all time who, as you say, left everything on the court, then there was no way Julius was going to get a pass. I just hope now that he’s gone that his fair critics (of which there are many in this community) and even the haters will appreciate that he was the cornerstone of an epic rebuild, and we owe him our gratitude.
Thanks for this, Jonathan. I was at the Garden on February 27, 2021, the first time Patrick played in another team’s uniform. Given that he had been pretty much chased out of town by a frustrated fan base and a petulant media (remember the NYP’s “Good Riddance” headline 🤦), there was some uncertainty as to how he would be received. Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were actually campaigning in the papers for a warm reception. Well, the Garden gave him the hero’s welcome he deserved, one of my most memorable moments there ever (https://youtu.be/FA8YfQuTJ2U). I know Julius won’t get the same ovation (Patrick was one of the three greatest Knicks, Julius might not crack the top 15), but I hope the MSG crowd will show him the love he deserves for—as you rightly say—being at the center of one of the most remarkable turnarounds in modern sport. We’re where we are today because of Julius, and I will be cheering my lungs out for him on Sunday.
Different because we had so little time when Melo and Stat were healthy together, and when Stat was healthy(ish) they didn't make any basketball sense playing the 3 and the 4, which is where they usually played together
The guy took a losing franchise with a pretty crappy roster to the playoffs and made all-star teams. Also he brought his family to the garden and always gave it his all and did it with a kind of passion that we hadn't seen in a long time. Before Julius I can't barely remember a close game where we came out on top at the end and with Julius there were so many fantastic wins that seemed like for sure losses for those of us who've watched. I got a lot of love for the guy and wish him the best and I guarantee the garden will give him a standing O when he comes back.
Julius got hate for marginal reasons after his first season (when he deserved to catch flak).
He and Thibs are the only reason the Knicks are where they are today.
There is no Brunson without Randle first, I'll keep saying it forever.
100% agree and the fact he wrote that article in the Players Tribune where he actually accepted the blame for that first season and identified what he was struggling with made him seem more human than just about any athlete I've ever seen. The dude is a real one forever.
This gets to the heart of it, Jon, and I'm grateful you said what you said here.
In the end, fans as a whole never truly got behind him - not in the way we're all behind Brunson and not even in the way a large, ardent portion of the fanbase was remained loyal to Melo. That always made me sad. At times, especially when the going got tough, I was part of it. Hell, I even thought at a particularly low point that they should trade him for Harrison Barnes and get out of the Randle business altogether. Remember those days?
But I wonder if it can be a larger lesson about fandom moving forward. Is there a way to avoid where things went with Randle at times? Can we collectively be more empathetic towards these extraordinary athletes - and people - who give us something to love, talk about and lose sleep over? I hope so.
This was going to be the season I bought a Randle jersey. In truth, I should've had one a long, long time ago.
We can say we'll try, but ultimately the masses will dictate how those moments go, and the masses usually have little interest in being "fair" to millionaire athletes.
I will be rooting for him every time he plays except against st the Knicks. He got much better at the things that were most frustrating, reducing the number of spin moves into oblivion, ball stopping and other bad habits. He played D at times and since he was our entire offense till Brunson was added it is no shock that he did not always have the energy to give 100 percent on D. He deferred to Brunson and was, based on reports, loved by his teammates while many thought he was a locker room cancer. He made the Knicks relevant and watchable again and I am sorry he won’t be around to enjoy the fruits of the seeds he planted.
my take on Julius is pretty simple - he was the most frustrating player I've ever watched BUT he also was the main driving force of the 2020 "We Here" team that provided a slight glimmer of light in literally the darkest time of our collective lives and I will never ever forget that. To me, Julius will forever be a Knick just based on that one magical and emotional season.
He'll always be one of my favorite Knicks, he could never get past the initial fan disappointment of not being Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving & Zion. I always thought fans blamed Randle for not being a Star even though he was a basketbrawler putting up 20+/10/5 every night.
Julius is such a fascinating and unique case among New York athletes. Think about it - if after the Knicks signed him, we were told he’d get three All-Star selections, make two All-NBA teams, and the team would have the success that it did, plus (the thumbs-down aside), he’d embrace New York and be genuinely liked and respected by his teammates, we’d have signed up for that immediately. I can’t think of anyone like that who’s been so polarizing.
Despite his warts on the court, I’ll always look fondly on his time here and wish him the best.
i’ll never forget #30. I’ll proudly wear my black randle jersey shirt on sunday, along with my “we here hat”. the guy balled out for ny.
Always like Julius...just dont think he fit with this team anymore....and you can usually tell what kind of man someone is by their kids...and that look on Kydens face everytime he looks at his dad is priceless....Good Luck
Great point on the way kids look at their parents.
The Patrick Ewing comparison is an interesting one but…Ewing always hauled ass back on defense and his effort was never questioned for one moment. That being said I’ll remember Randle as a maddening but talented player who was a critical transition piece in our franchise’s ultimate rebound. He was surrounded by garbage talent for a stretch and managed to carry the team on his back to the playoffs and regained hope which many of us had lost. No small thing. Thanks Ju. Hoping for health & happiness for you and your family.
What I was really trying to say is that if a significant portion of this fan base turned on perhaps the greatest Knick of all time who, as you say, left everything on the court, then there was no way Julius was going to get a pass. I just hope now that he’s gone that his fair critics (of which there are many in this community) and even the haters will appreciate that he was the cornerstone of an epic rebuild, and we owe him our gratitude.
Thanks for this, Jonathan. I was at the Garden on February 27, 2021, the first time Patrick played in another team’s uniform. Given that he had been pretty much chased out of town by a frustrated fan base and a petulant media (remember the NYP’s “Good Riddance” headline 🤦), there was some uncertainty as to how he would be received. Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were actually campaigning in the papers for a warm reception. Well, the Garden gave him the hero’s welcome he deserved, one of my most memorable moments there ever (https://youtu.be/FA8YfQuTJ2U). I know Julius won’t get the same ovation (Patrick was one of the three greatest Knicks, Julius might not crack the top 15), but I hope the MSG crowd will show him the love he deserves for—as you rightly say—being at the center of one of the most remarkable turnarounds in modern sport. We’re where we are today because of Julius, and I will be cheering my lungs out for him on Sunday.
The standing ovation Julius receives on January 17th should be deafening.
Really well done tribute!
Is Randle the Amare for Melo, like he was for Brunson?
Different because we had so little time when Melo and Stat were healthy together, and when Stat was healthy(ish) they didn't make any basketball sense playing the 3 and the 4, which is where they usually played together