Knicks forward Julius Randle has won the NBA 2020-21 Most Improved Player award, SNY’s Ian Begley confirmed.
In his second season with the Knicks, Randle improved in nearly every offensive statistical category. He went from scoring 19.5 points per game (2020) to 24.1 points per game (2021), including a huge boost on his 3-point percentage from 27.7 percent (2020) to 41.1 percent (2021) from beyond the arc. Randle also averaged a career-high 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season.
He became the sixth player in NBA history to put up 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Russell Westbrook, and Nikola Jokic.
Randle won the award over the Denver Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. and the Detroit Pistons’ Jerami Grant.
Randle’s game expanded under head coach Tom Thibodeau, and the team earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 41-31 record.