Julius Randle Still Making Impact For Knicks Despite Injury

The New York Knicks officially locked up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2024 NBA Playoffs with their victory over the Chicago Bulls on the final day of the regular season, coupled with the Milwaukee Bucks losing to the Orlando Magic. It got the Knicks to the 50-win mark, which is an impressive achievement when taking into consideration the adversity the team has faced this season.

The biggest obstacle New York had to overcome was injuries. They were without several key contributors for large chunks of the season, as there were points the Knicks had only five or six players healthy on full-time NBA contracts.

One of the players who has missed a large chunk of the season is All-Star power forward, Julius Randle. Randle suffered a separate shoulder on January 27th against the Miami Heat, which resulted in his season-ending prematurely.

He attempted to rehab the shoulder and return to the court, but he was unable to get beyond controlled contact. That resulted in a setback in his rehab, as his shoulder was not stable enough to play and he opted to undergo surgery.

Without a player of Randle’s caliber in the lineup, many teams would have folded. Especially when you take into consideration the Knicks were also without Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby for stretches as well.

But, the Knicks rallied despite their entire starting frontcourt being sidelined. Despite Randle not being able to help the team on the court, he has remained an important piece of the puzzle. Following Sunday’s victory over the Bulls, Donte DiVincenzo revealed just how much Randle helped this team win 50 games even though he wasn’t in the lineup.

“The presence that he has, on and off the court… he still checks in with everybody, he’s still locked in,” DiVincenzo said of the injured Randle, via Knicks Videos on X.