Prior to the start of this season, who'd have thought that the first MVP chants we heard from fans at Madison Square Garden in 2021 were not, a) from opposing fans regarding a player on the visiting team or, b) the sarcastic Knicks faithful attempting to joke about their roster's lack of MVP talent?
On Tuesday night, MSG was filled with fans again as the Knicks took on the Warriors, and a smart team representative was chosen to welcome those fans back: Julius Randle. And though Randle may not have the strongest MVP case this year, considering the other talent around the association, the fans who came to watch their hopeful 2021 Knicks squad weren't playing around in their appraisal of Randle's performance this year.
"MVP" chants rained down from the rafters and were clearly a welcome sound for Randle, who almost seemed a little taken aback with joy.
Randle received another nice surprise at MSG on Tuesday night, following the announcement that he had been named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
And both Knicks fans and his mother received a nice performance in return from Randle, albeit in a loss, as he dropped 25 points, nine of which came from three-point land, to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists. It was the fourth time this season that Randle has achieved such a stat line, and only the seventh time in the history of the Knicks that somewhat has posted 25 points, 3 3-Pt., 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Yes, Julius Randle has more games of this variety than the rest of the Knicks franchise combined, and he's accomplished all of them this year (via Stathead).
On the season, he's nearly averaging that stat line, with 23.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 3-Pt. per game in a stellar, unexpected breakout campaign. Combined with the recent health struggles and trade rumors surrounding Kristaps Porzingis, Knicks fans everywhere — whether at MSG or at home — couldn't be much happier regarding their big man situation.
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