To Absolutely Nobody's Surprise, Julius Randle Was Named The NBA's Most Improved Player And He Received The Award In The Cutest Way Ever
Julius Randle Last Year:
Julius Randle This Year:
Yup, I think it's safe to say that the guy who was pretty much a basketball grab bag every time he spun into the lane last season where you would either pull out a cupcake, a live grenade, or a bear trap evolving into an All NBA player that could kill you inside or outside and will get some sort of MVP votes seems like a no-brainer for the Most Improved Player Award. The only surprise was apparently how Randle would find out he won the award and that surprise was fucking adorable.
Advertisement
Kyden Randle has been the most delightful part of an absolutely delightful season.
Tons of Knicks fans, including myself, were adding Randle to the Trade Machine to see what we could get for him. Then Kenny Payne came to town, Thibs became coach, and they helped transform Julius Randle into the absolute machine he was this season while also leading the NBA in minutes while playing in every game except for one. Not only that, but he gave the Knicks their two biggest phrases of the season, which counts for a ton in my advanced metrics.
He may not have looked like the Most Improved Player in Game 1, but based on everything we've seen from him, I am ready to responsibly bet that he bounces back in a big way tonight.