Julius Randle is coming of age and the Knicks are surging as a result

If there was one thing Julius Randle learned from the two years he spent playing with Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, it was to put in the work.

“It was Bryant who taught him that whenever you land in the next city for the next game, you hit the gym to put up shots before you go to the hotel, no matter how late or how inconvenient that may be,” reporter Rebecca Haarlow revealed on MSG. “It’s the game and it’s the work that comes first.”

Randle has put those lessons to good use, and now it’s starting to pay off in a big way for both he and the New York Knicks.

The Knicks enter Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans on a roll, having won five straight games and six of their last eight. The two losses during that run didn’t come against pushovers either – a pair of two-point defeats on the road against the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics.

The winning streak nearly came to an end against the Pelicans, as Zion Wiliamson scored 34 points. But Randle countered with 33 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and five steals, helping rally the Knicks to a 122-112 victory in overtime.

The six-game winning streak has pushed New York (31-27) into sixth place in the Eastern Conference and has the Knicks nipping at the heels of the Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks.

But the amazing thing is that the strong play has been influenced primarily by one man – Randle.

The seventh-year forward, who earned his first All-Star nod this winter, is hitting career-high averages in points (23.6), rebounds (10.6) and steals (0.9). Even more impressive, his assists average of 6.0 is significantly improved over his previous career-best of 3.6 in 2016-17.

And not only is Randle’s offensive game more versatile than ever, but it is also coming from more places on the court than ever. Randle is taking a career-high 5.1 3-pointers per game. And he’s not just launching wildly at the hoop, he’s making them at a 41% clip. That’s not only the best percentage of his career, it’s the best of any Knick who plays more than 12 minutes per game.

Talk about a Kobe Bryant influence: Look at the moves on this step-back 3.

It’s a shot Randle has been working on, and he’s doing it incredibly efficiently.

As Randle’s play has improved, the Knicks’ fortunes have improved along the way. Check out Randle’s numbers during New York’s six-game winning streak.

That 40-point, 10-rebound, five-assist outing at Dallas hasn’t been accomplished by a Knick since Bernard King in 1985, nine years before Randle was born.

Randle attributes his improved play to more than time in the gym working on the physical aspects of the game. He says he’s also undergone a mental makeover.

“It’s not just the weight room and the court. I’m going to handle that,” Randle said, according to the New York Daily News. “But my mentality and my mindset was just different. So I changed that aspect as well. And the results are showing.”

Indeed they are. Randle leads the Knicks in scoring, rebounding and assists. But his impact on his team is about more than stats. He also sets the example for his teammates, and as Haarlow reported in the video above, it’s catching on. When Randle is seeking out that gym late at night when he arrives in a new city, he’s not alone.

“What’s he’s most proud of is that that tradition is something that he’s passed on to the Knicks,” Haarlow said. “They’re all doing that work, and it’s all because Kobe taught him that that’s what it takes.”

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau agrees.

“We said it many times he’s our engine,” Thibodeau said. “He makes us go.”

How far Randle can drive the Knicks remains to be seen. They certainly won’t be a championship favorite come playoff time.

But things are looking up in New York, and Randle is starting to get not only recognition for his statistical output but also for the culture he is building with the Knicks.

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