Julius Randle signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2019 and made his first All-Star team the following season. Since then he has done it twice more.
Jalen Brunson signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2022 and made his first All-Star team this season. He is the first player to make his first All-Star appearance after signing with a new team since … Julius Randle.
He speaks of a different philosophy in New York, where the team has spent decades trying to lure stars to the Big Apple under owner James Dolan. Over the past 20 years, the Knicks have signed or traded former All-Stars such as Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. While Anthony was a regular All-Star, the others combined for both All-Star bids: one each for Stoudemire and Chandler.
Now, New York has acquired promising young players and turned them into All-Stars. Randle and Brunson both showed promise with the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, but became true stars with the Knicks.
The Knicks’ latest major trade takes a similar approach. They dealt with OG Anunoby, who made an All-Defensive team, but never an All-Star team. Since that trade, the Knicks have won nine straight.