Why Julius Randle feels like he's entering his prime, and how Knicks teammate Jalen Brunson motivated him
Julius Randle feels like he’s entering his prime.
"I was talking to my trainer about this today -- we were talking about prime years," Randle said Wednesday while filming an episode of The Shop: Uninterrupted in Brooklyn. "I feel like your prime is when your mental and physical kind of meet. Physically, I feel like this is going to be my best year. But I feel like, mentally, I've taken a tremendous step because I've had to slow everything down (while rehabbing after ankle surgery)."
Randle is two months away from the start of his 10th NBA training camp. He's still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle but is expected to be ready for the start of camp.
He wasn’t wearing any protective cover around his ankle during Wednesday’s show.
The conversation featured co-hosts Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera, Randle and hip hop artists Method Man and Joey Bada$$.
At one point, Carter asked Randle about expectations for the season.
The two-time All-Star has been in New York long enough to know that his thoughts on this topic would be dissected intensely. So Randle shied away from making any big guarantees, though he did say that the Knicks want to win a title.
"We want to win a championship, at the end of the day … that's what we're working towards," Randle said.
Randle returns to a team that won 47 regular-season games and a playoff series last season. It was just the second playoff series win in two decades for the Knicks.
The franchise has had a relatively quiet offseason. New York traded Obi Toppin and signed Donte DiVincenzo at the start of free agency. But, to date, they haven't made any roster-altering moves.
So they're presumably betting that the internal development of Randle, Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and others will help them improve in 2023-24.
Randle, on Wednesday, credited Brunson for motivating him by the way he approached his craft.
"One of the biggest people that honestly pushed me was Jalen, my teammate, because I saw how he worked," Randle said in an early portion of the 40-minute taping "And I'm a worker. And I saw how diligent he was, his focus level to it. So JB's really pushed me."
Randle also reflected on his tenure in New York during the show. He noted that the scrutiny from the New York media is "different" than other big markets he's spent time in, such as Los Angeles with the Lakers from 2014-18 and Lexington, Ky., with the University of Kentucky for the 2013-14 season.
"It's definitely different than any other place," Randle said of New York. "It's tough, especially for me as a person who cares so much and wants to win, and wants to win every single game. My friends will tell you -- my wife, everybody -- will tell you I'm a sore loser. I don't like losing. And the media; it's tough. But honestly, I can say being here in New York has made me who I am to this day. It's definitely built me."
The conversation with Randle is part of The Shop's three-city tour. The show -- produced by LeBron James' SpringHill Company -- will also film live episodes in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
