Julius Randle's All-Star Weekend ball in the family
Julius Randle of the New York Knicks speaks during media availability as part of 2023 NBA All Star Weekend on February 18, 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Credit: Getty Images
SALT LAKE CITY — As Julius Randle struggled through his round of the three-point shootout at NBA All-Star Weekend on Saturday night, the television cameras panned over to his 6-year-old son Kyden, showing his face contort into a frown as the shots bounded off the rim, leaving Randle eliminated in the first round.
For the elder Randle, there would be no frown or tears or regrets at saying yes when the league came calling for a last-minute replacement in the shootout. For him, the weekend was all about soaking in the moments, enjoying every minute not only with his peers as he earned his second All-Star honor in three years but with his family, whom he parked courtside for every event.
And if the cameras caught that one moment of disappointment, the Randles — Julius and Kyden — were happy to be a part of this event.
“Yeah, 1,000%,” Randle said. “This is way better. I guess this is a true experience, and I’m having fun with it. My family, my son Ky, he is here. He is having a blast. Jayce, my other kid, is having a blast. That’s really what it’s all about for me.
“It’s the best part for me. There’s a lot going on this weekend. Obviously, it’s a celebration for the season that everybody has had up to this point. For me, it’s about spending the time with my boys, them getting this experience with my wife and my family.”
Randle earned his first All-Star berth two seasons ago, but it was in the midst of the COVID lockdown and it didn’t come with all of the fanfare and opportunities that he found this time.
Everything seems a little more fun, a little more joyous for Randle now, and not just touring his way around All-Star Weekend.
He was selected 10th overall by LeBron James in the draft for the game — getting his wish to play with James, at least for a half, until James was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a right hand contusion. Randle did his part, throwing down a pair of first-half dunks and finishing with 11 points, but Jayson Tatum set an All-Star Game scoring record with 55 points as Team Giannis beat Team LeBron, 184-175.
Two seasons ago, Randle and the Knicks flourished. They earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth, and Randle not only became an All-Star but was named an All-NBA second-team member and the league’s most improved player.
But last season, his play fell off and the team dropped below .500 again. Calls from fans for Obi Toppin to get more minutes made Randle a target, and when he struggled, the chants of “M-V-P” of a year earlier became boos and taunts.
With his family often near courtside hearing it, he fought back and took on the fans. But he spoke earlier this month about the change — not only in his play but in his body language — that brought him back. An offseason visit from Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant came with a harsh message.
“One of the biggest things was he was like, you know, just talking about the year before,” Randle said. “And he said something like along the lines of — if you were your teammate and saw you acting the way that you did sometimes, body language, showing frustration, whatever it was, would you want to be your teammate? And I was like, no. I had to look at myself in the mirror and take accountability and get better and learn from it.”
Since signing with the Knicks in 2019, Randle has never been doubted for his work ethic, coming in each season highly conditioned and with an expanded game. This season he came armed with a new role, sharing the ball in a way he had not been required to after the team signed point guard Jalen Brunson.
Randle has expanded his three-point shooting, firing up 477 attempts in 60 games, nearly 100 more than he had shot in any full season. His percentage has improved from .308 to .338, good enough to convince the NBA to ask him if he wanted in for the three-point shootout. He was eliminated in the first round with a score of 13. That was far off the leaders, but at least it was not the worst performance of the night.
“They asked me,” he said before the event. “I didn’t find out until after the [Knicks’ final game before the break]. They asked me. I said why not? Have fun with it. I practiced once. I practiced yesterday one time, and we‘ll see how it goes.”
He smiled when it was over and then he did what he has done all weekend: take in the rest of the show. He was on the floor with his family Friday night when teammate Quentin Grimes was a part of the Rising Stars Challenge. After his participation Saturday, he got dressed and stuck around to watch Jericho Sims join in the Slam Dunk contest.
And whatever Sunday night brought, he was happy to be back as a part of the All-Star Game again.
“It was a blur just because every day, everything was fitted into one event,” Randle said of that first-time participation two years ago. “It was tough, it was quick. Just to be there was an honor. For that to be the first one was cool, but this one is definitely a lot more fun.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
