It has been a slow start to New York Knicks forward Julius Randle’s 2023 season, and he has reportedly been playing through pain in his ankle that stems from the offseason surgery he had, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
Julius Randle refused to rest injured ankle despite Knicks’ attempts
“Julius Randle had been battling through ankle pain and, as a player committed to availability, resisted attempts from the Knicks to get him to rest,” Bondy said in his report.
Randle has looked better of late, but his horrendous start to the season in which he was shooting under 30% from the field raised questions about his health and effort level.
There were multiple stretches where the two-time all-star did not appear to be playing at full speed, and he seemed disengaged with the offensive scheme at times as well.
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Randle opens up about his slow start to the season
Randle elaborated on his poor start Friday and attributed it to the ankle injury he was playing through.
“I told you guys from the beginning it was a process. I had surgery four-and-a-half months ago, and it’s a lower-extremity surgery, so to think that I would come into this season and just be Julius off the bat is kind of naive,” said Randle via The New York Post’s Zach Braziller.
Whether or not Randle should have been playing through an injury at the very beginning of the season is a different conversation to have, but the hope now is that Randle will overcome his rough start and get back to playing like the All-NBA level player he was last season.
He will have another opportunity to continue his recent redemption arc when the Knicks take on the Hornets at noon on Sunday.
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