Julius Randle found out that he won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award on Tuesday, but it wasn’t through a phone call, email or random leaked tweet.
Instead, his four-year-old son, Kyden, ran onto the court, sporting his father’s jersey, with the piece of hardware in his hand. Randle’s teammates clapped behind him as he gave Kyden a hug.
The first time All-Star forward has dominated this season as the Knicks found themselves in the postseason for the first time since 2013. The 26-year-old has averaged career-highs with 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists, while shooting 41.1% from 3-point range.
It’s a sizable improvement from last season when Randle averaged 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The biggest jump came from his 3-point percentage, which was 27.7% last season.
Randle, who is New York’s first most-improved winner since the award’s inception in 1985, beat out Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. and Pistons forward Jerami Grant for the award.
The Knicks face Atlanta for Game 2 on Wednesday night, hoping to overcome their first game loss to keep their playoff dance alive.
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