First-time All-Star Julius Randle may be the “fourth” New Yorker on Team Durant in Sunday night’s NBA All-Star Game, but he’s the lone Knick in the game (and one of two in the festivities), and isn’t taking that for granted.
“This means a lot for sure, as far as an accomplishment in my career. I’m really excited to be here,” Randle told the media Sunday morning on a Zoom call. “It’s definitely a different feeling (due to COVID changes), but it’s one I’m very proud to be a part of and don’t take for granted. It’s not a normal all-star weekend but it’s great to be here for sure.”
Randle arrived in Atlanta Saturday night, a stark change from the usual protocols that see players involved in the festivities arrive for a long weekend of fun. Already, though, COVID has wreaked havoc on the game, forcing Sixers Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons out of the game due to contact tracing issues and leaving both teams a man down.
“I think it’ll be fine, but very unfortunate for Ben and Joel,” Randle said. “I’m not really sure what will happen, but I’m sure the NBA will come up with something. It’s the world we’re in, and we have to adjust on the fly.”
One of those adjustments: the usual All-Star Saturday night festivities will all happen tonight, with the Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest happening pre-game and the Slam Dunk Contest at halftime. Randle wouldn’t reveal if he was part of Obi Toppin’s dunk contest set-up – he only said “Obi’s gonna win, man” – but wasn’t too worried about having to take part in that Skills Competition not long before the actual game tip-off.
“That doesn’t change my approach, I’m just going to be in the moment and enjoy the experience,” Randle said. “It’s kind of expected. This is not a normal All-Star weekend, so it’s one of those things where you have to adjust.”
All in all, Randle said he just “wants this moment to resonate,” because he hopes to have it many more times, and wants to go out there and have fun – mostly for his four-year-old son, Kyden.
“Seeing my son enjoying the experience is big. I don’t know if he understands this fully, but he has an idea of what’s going on,” Randle said. “He knows it’s something that’s not normal, but it’s cool.”
Randle cried when he was selected as an All-Star, and hopes to use that as a teaching moment for Kyden when the youngster is indeed old enough to understand what Sunday meant to his dad.
“When you work hard at things in life and put your mind to something…you let the chips fall where they may, and when you’ve given everything you’ve had, to finally accomplish it, that’s meaningful,” Randle said. “For me, that moment was more about the journey than being named an All-Star. I appreciate the journey and the process.”
He credits his teammates on this year’s Knicks squad for helping push that journey to Atlanta.
“Last year, with the experiences I had with how defenses were collapsing and guarding me, I knew I had to work on making the easy play and making my teammates better,” Randle said. “Coach Thibs has done a great job to put me in positions where I’m comfortable, and my teammates are doing a great job when I’m double-teamed or trapped to let me know where my outlets are and where I can go.”
And come Monday morning, it’s back to work with that crew, trying to get the 19-18 Knicks (who currently hold the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference) towards the playoffs.
“We knew going on to the last few games we wanted to lock in and win as many games as possible, and we did that and got some good momentum going into the break,” Randle said. “I’m excited about tonight, but I’m more excited about getting the second half going. We’ve done a great job doing what we need to do to put us in the position we’re in.”
He just hopes they can do that with more and more fans at Madison Square Garden as COVID restrictions allow.
“Just the 2000 fans we’ve had in The Garden lately, you definitely feel the difference in energy in the arena,” he said. “We missed our fans and missed that experience. I’m happy things are starting to get back to normal, and I hope it can continue to get bigger.”
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