Knicks announce Julius Randle needs shoulder surgery and will miss the remainder of the season
NEW YORK -- The Knicks' hopes of winning a championship this season just took a big hit.
The team announced on Thursday that power forward Julius Randle needs right shoulder surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.
Randle, a three-time All-Star, went down with a dislocation during a win over the Miami Heat back on Jan. 27. The Knicks had hoped he could rehab his way back onto the court, something coach Tom Thibodeau echoed as recently as Tuesday.
"You have to have a belief that it will turn, which I do," Thibodeau said. "Maybe it's tomorrow, maybe it's the day after, who knows when it is, but just keep putting everything you have into each day. So, work out, do your rehab, try to strengthen your shoulder as much as you can and go from there."
The Knicks said Randle will be re-evaluated in five months, which means it's no certainty he'll even be ready for the start of the 2024-25 season.
Randle was averaging 24 points and nine rebounds at the time of his injury, production that will be hard to replace in the playoffs, when defenses generally ratchet up the intensity. The news of Randle's impending surgery is another blow to a team that had hoped to have him, all-everything point guard Jalen Brunson, and recently acquired small forward OG Anunoby in the starting lineup in the playoffs.
Anunoby, who has a solid all-around game but is known more for his defensive prowess, is dealing with an elbow injury that has forced him to miss 26 of the Knicks' 43 games since they acquired him from the Toronto Raptors for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley back on Dec. 30. With Anunoby and Randle in the lineup together, the Knicks went 12-2, boasting the NBA's top-ranked defense during that stretch.
The Knicks are also without starting center Mitchell Robinson, who has missed 53 games due to an ankle injury, though it is believed he will return sooner rather than later.
At the time of Randle's injury the Knicks were 29-17, but are just 15-14 since. They sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference heading into Thursday night's game against the Sacramento Kings.
