You can take the boy out of New York but you can never take New York out of the boy. That’s how Julius Randle feels. The three-time All-Star is preparing to enter his second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team he helped reach the Conference Finals one year ago.
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But prior to his stint in Minnesota, Randle spent five years balling out at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks. He was integral in bringing the franchise out of its playoff drought and was the team’s No. 1 scoring option under former coach Tom Thibodeau.
Randle may now represent a Midwestern team in the Western Conference, but the Big Apple will always hold a special place in his heart. The 30-year-old star addressed this topic during a recent interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“I’m always going to have ties to New York beyond basketball. It was a city, it was a great time for me. It was great to my family,” admitted Randle, who reminisced about his successes in the City That Never Sleeps.
“Accomplished a lot of great things. Got to play in the Garden every single night. Met a lot of great people. I have a lot of great memories on the basketball court there. I’m always going to be appreciative of my time there. It was amazing,” he said.
Julius Randle is entering his 2nd year with the T-Wolves after spending the previous 5 with the Knicks.
He told @thefrankisola and @Scalabrine what he took the most away from his time in New York.
Check out the Wolves Season Preview on the SXM App: https://t.co/sYX8fIx0rp pic.twitter.com/aguSrKXZN3
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) October 16, 2025
It’s cool to see Julius look back on his time with the Knicks. The New York media was not kind to him for a large portion of his stint despite being one of the best Power Forwards in the East the time he was there.
He did accomplish quite a bit in NYK as well, earning himself three All-Star and two All-NBA nods in those five seasons. He also led the Knicks to three Playoff appearances.
Some guys would hold grudges, but not Randle. His kind demeanor is why his game is reaching new heights elsewhere. Good Karma is good karma.
That said, Randle revealed that he does feel like a visitor now when he returns to Madison Square Garden. “I would say this time going preseason back home was the first time I was like, ‘Okay it’s the first time in a while I felt like a visitor.’ Last year I was going there it kind of still felt weird.”
Again, that makes sense. The New York fans love you when you’re in white, blue, and orange, but will boo you when you wear anything else. Regardless of what he did for the Knicks, Randle is a Wolf now. There’s no loyalty passed that.
And as a member of the Wolves, Julius will be aiming to get his squad over the hump that is the Conference Finals. Minnesota has made it two years in a row to the semifinal round, which is no small feat. However, if Randle and teammate Anthony Edwards want to grow their legacies further, this would be the year to take them all the way.
