SEE: Knicks’ Julius Randle is a man of the people | Shows off handles in workout

At face value, New York Knicks star power forward Julius Randle is a 6’8″, 250-pound physical player. However, Randle is also a community man and a fantastic teammate, playing with unparalleled passion and desire.

Last off-season, Randle turned a lot of his weaknesses into strengths, having his best season to date. He averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and averaged 37.6 minutes per game, all career-highs. Having made himself the face of New York Knicks basketball, Randle also earned himself a massive extension but also opened up a bit of flexibility for the team down the road if they want to add more talent.

The Knicks extended Randle on a four-year, $117 million deal. But while many players would be enjoying their new money on vacation, Randle has spent his time working in the lab and making appearances at high schools to provide essential advice and inspiration to youth players.

Randle has been training with Tyler Relph, an NBA skills coach. Improving his dribbling and shot creation is part of Randle’s off-season training, and clearly, his work last year paid off in dividends. As stated above, Randle had his best season in multiple categories but is looking to improve upon those numbers as he prepares to turn 27 years old before the new year. At such a ripe age, he has plenty of untapped potential, and the Knicks are expecting him to be an even bigger focal point next season. They also made moves to take some of the pressure off in high-intensity moments.

The front office went out and signed Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker, which will provide more offensive production, taking pressure off Julius. Despite the acquisition of more players, don’t expect Randle to take any time off. With stellar conditioning and a fantastic work regimen, Randle has the ability to play 35+ minutes every night. He played the most minutes of any player in the NBA last season.

Check out this highlight of his handles at the perimeter, something we didn’t see from the power forward last year as he mainly played bully-ball in the paint in isolation and used his physicality to gain leverage. If he can add quickness and agility to his game from behind the three-point line, Randle could take another step forward, which would put the Knicks in contention for a deeper playoff run.