Ahhh, the 2020–21 season. I remember it well. After years as a punchline, the Knicks unexpectedly became competitive under first-year, veteran coach Tom Thibodeau and breakout star Julius Randle. They finished with a winning record, earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and returned to the postseason.
Randle’s stellar season (24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, six assists, All-Star, second-team All-NBA, Most Improved Player) helped the team go from the butt of jokes to something more competent.
He was high-usage, physical, available, and visibly invested in the work ethic Thibs demanded. Randle defined the season on April 21, 2021 when—after scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 boards to beat the Hawks in overtime—he famously told the MSG crowd, “We here.”
We loved it, this weird, slippery feeling he brought back to us called hope. The Knicks lost to the Hawks in the first round, but we were undeterred. For the first time in a long time, the hope felt real.
Randle was taken seventh in the 2014 draft by the Lakers. Take a look at how young and unrefined he was back in 2019, at his first media day as a Knickerbocker. He would come a long way in a short time under the bright lights of NYC.
On August 25, 2021, Randle signed a four-year extension worth a reported $117 million with incentives and a player option in the final year. It was the most the Knicks could offer under CBA rules, but a sight less than Randle might have earned by reaching unrestricted free agency in 2022. Had he maintained something close to his All-NBA production, projections put his next deal near five years and $200 million. (I’d love to know how he explained that to Mrs. Randle.)
Randle justified leaving tens of millions on the table by saying he believed the decision would give the Knicks greater flexibility to build a contender. After earlier career stops with the Lakers and Pelicans, where he had not always been happy, Jules wanted to lock into a situation he believed in. The big fella received security, continuity, and a chance to help shape the franchise. The fanbase received another sign that second-year team president Leon Rose was committed to building around what the Knicks already had rather than waiting for a free-agent savior.
The immediate results were a tad worrying. Randle regressed in 2021–22, and the Knicks missed the playoffs. The frustration peaked on January 6, 2022, against Boston at Madison Square Garden. After the Knicks fell behind by 25 and heard boos from the crowd, Randle responded to a fourth-quarter bucket with a thumbs-down gesture. Asked afterward what it meant, he replied, “Shut the f*** up.” He later apologized on Instagram, and the NBA fined him $25,000 for the language.
There are many reasons that season went off the rails, including the gamble on Kemba Walker and the mixed results from Evan Fournier. Randle’s prominence on the team, his mood swings, and his drop in production made him the most obvious target for fans who, less than a year earlier, had such high hopes. There’s that word again, the slippery bastard.
Still, the organization did not regress into perpetual reconstruction. Thibodeau’s culture of toughness and accountability took root around Randle and holdovers such as RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. The Knicks had begun to resemble a credible basketball operation again, and that mattered in 2022, when they cleared cap space and signed Jalen Brunson to a four-year, $104 million deal.
Brunson quickly became the primary creator and eventual face of the franchise (and captain!). Randle adapted to playing alongside him, producing additional All-Star and All-NBA seasons. Success followed.
The Knicks became regular playoff participants while improving the roster through savvy front-office moves. Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and eventually Mikal Bridges joined the group. Then, in October 2024, Randle’s part of the story ended. New York sent him, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, and a first-round pick to Minnesota in the three-team trade for Karl-Anthony Towns.
The front office publicly thanked Randle for helping establish the foundation and culture it hoped to build upon, and the trade showed how far the franchise had advanced. New York could exchange one accomplished All-NBA player for another whose skill set better suited the roster around Brunson. Towns brought size, shooting, and secondary creation to a group reinforced by Anunoby, Bridges, Hart, and others.
That group eventually reached the mountaintop Randle never could as a Knick. Thibodeau was replaced by Mike Brown, who coached the 2025–26 squad to 53 wins, an NBA Cup championship, and the franchise’s first NBA title in five decades. Brunson became Finals MVP, while Towns delivered consistently on the biggest stage.
Five years after the extension, the anniversary is bittersweet. Randle never won the big prize in New York, but our appreciation for his contribution has grown in retrospect. He joined a dysfunctional franchise, restored respectability and expectations, embodied its culture of hard work, and ultimately became a valuable enough asset to help acquire the third-best center in the league (according to The Athletic . . . any guesses whom they put ahead of KAT?).
On the timeline from the crappy years to the championship, Randle’s 2021 extension stands as a pivotal moments. The line extends from there through Brunson’s arrival, the Towns trade, and the hanging of the banner (coming soon). Randle is back in New York these days, about to begin a season with the Brooklyn Nets. If you see him around the city, give him a nod and show some respect. The championship we are celebrating might not have happened without him.
Knicks in five.
