Knicks' Julius Randle an All-Star again, Jalen Brunson snubbed
Julius Randle of the Knicks looks on against the Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Julius Randle was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star squad on Thursday for the second time in his career, but Jalen Brunson was snubbed by the coaches selecting the reserves.
Randle was selected as a reserve along with Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Bam Adebayo, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Tyrese Haliburton.
Randle, averaging career highs in points (24.7) and rebounds (10.9), made the squad for the first time in 2020-21, when he also was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and earned second-team All-NBA honors. After slipping last season, he has rebounded with the addition of Brunson.
“Obviously, it’s a huge honor, man,” Randle said. “It’s a lot that goes into it, a lot of trust and belief in myself from the people around me — the organization, Leon [Rose], [William Wesley], my owner Dolan, Thibs, teammates, my family. Everybody. It’s a lot that goes into it.
“Johnnie [Bryant] came to me in the beginning of the summer. I hadn’t touched a basketball in probably like a month and a half, two months — didn’t touch a basketball. Just had to clear my mind and get my mind back right for the grind. He came to me and had an honest conversation. Helped me put my ego and my pride to the side and, you know, try to adjust my game, look at myself in the mirror and do what’s best for the team.
“It’s a team effort, man. It’s a team honor. The only thing that really [stinks] about it is I think Jalen should be right here with me.”
Brunson, who sat out Thursday's 106-104 win over the Heat with a non-COVID illness, is averaging career highs in points (22.8) and assists (6.2). Said Randle, “Night in, night out, not only the impact that he’s had on this team but me personally. He takes a lot of weight off my shoulders and he’s somebody I know I can trust every night to get the job done. And that goes for everybody on our team.
“Obviously, JB, he’s been incredible this season and what he’s done for this team on a night-in, night-out basis is amazing. So, like I said, I feel like he should be an All-Star.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Randle: “I think he’s had a great season. A lot was made of last season. Last season he was challenged in a different way because of what he had done the previous season and we had injuries to our point guards last year. So he had to do a lot. People were locked in pretty good to him.
“I think getting Jalen has freed him up. And he’s done a good job of diversifying his game. He’s taking really good shots. That’s helped us. And he’s scoring in different ways, whether it’s transition, post up, sometimes has the ball, he’s a screener in the pick-and-roll, ballhandler, he and Jalen have great chemistry in the two-man game.
“When he uses that versatility — no one wants to see Julius attacking the rim. Like that’s where his strength is and he’s hard to stop going downhill, getting to the rim. And he’s shooting enough threes where you have to play them and they’re rhythm shots.”
Randle will earn a $1.2 million bonus for making the team. His cap number will rise to $26.9 million next season with the All-Star bonus shifted to a likely bonus.
Brunson was beaten out by backcourt players such as Holiday, DeRozan and Haliburton, whom MSG analyst Wally Szczerbiak called “a fake All-Star” earlier this season.
Last month, Brunson said he’d love to get an All-Star spot for the first time in his career.
“Yeah, it’d definitely be nice,” he said. “Just control what I can control. That’s really it.”
He never cracked the top 10 in fan voting and finished eighth among the player vote.
There was hope that the coaches would honor his style of play, serving as a coach on the floor and a leader in the locker room, and recognize his gaudy numbers on the court.
“I don’t really know,” Brunson said last month. “I know that every coach that I’ve had, we’ve had a great relationship. I appreciate them. They appreciate me. From that aspect yes, but I can’t control what other people think or their opinions. I just focus on how I can help my team win games.”
Thibodeau had hopes that both players would earn a spot. Brunson certainly has a shot to be added if a player drops out because of an injury.
“I’m hopeful. I think both are deserving,” Thibodeau said. “I think Julius had a monster year all season and I’m hopeful Jalen gets recognized for the contributions that he made. So we’ll see how that unfolds.”
The Western Conference reserves are Ja Morant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Domantas Sabonis, Paul George, Damian Lillard, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
