Julius Randle was a member of the New York Knicks for four seasons and learned some important lessons along the way about managing city expectations.
Randle recently made a guest appearance on Paul George’s “Podcast P,” where he was asked how he copes with the pressure and expectations of playing in New York. The striker humorously remarked that one thing not to do is give the crowd a thumbs-down.
“First, if you want a lesson, don’t give the thumbs down. It didn’t work out well for me,” Randle said. Randle refers to an incident in which he gestured to boos from fans at a January 2022 home game. He later had to issue a semi-apology on social media, as the move only sparked further criticism.
Randle added that he loves the New York environment. He still sometimes questions his mindset about him and hasn’t been particularly great in his two playoff appearances with the team. However, he took the right lesson from the whole thumbs-up incident.