Madison Square Garden was louder than ever throughout the last season. With the fans’ hopes hinging on Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, the former picked up a serious injury in the game against the Miami Heat on January 27. It wasn’t an ordinary injury that the offensive center received, it ruled him out for the remainder of the season. While Randle was wrenching in agonizing pain, his family could only watch. What went through their minds was unclear, but in a video that has been going viral on the internet, his wife, Kendra Shaw, revealed what she felt when she saw Randle rush to the locker room that night.

“I knew once he didn’t get up immediately that he was hurt bad,” Kendra said in the first episode of Randle’s official series posted on his YouTube account. “Usually, he’s tough. He always just pops right up and and keeps going. He’s gonna stay in the game no matter what. So when he didn’t get up, I knew that it was probably serious.”

The concerned wife added, “So my heart sank, because he worked so hard to get to that point.” The video also captures Randle sitting at his lavish Malibu house and bringing his emotions to the world during the recovery. He stated that he believed, “I’ll bounce back and I’ll be right. And in my mind, I thought I’ll be ready sooner.”

No one could anticipate that the collision with Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. would turn out to be that dangerous for Randle. After the fall, everyone was hoping to see him on his feet shortly, but concerns began to emerge when the 3-time All-Star remained on the floor for some time. Once Randle got up, holding his right shoulder, he was taken to the locker room. Within a couple of minutes, the Knicks secured a 125-109 victory, where Randle contributed 19 points besides grabbing 9 rebounds. Months later, the news of his surgery was announced. However, the Knicks supporters can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the upcoming season could bring some good news for them.

Julius Randle is expected to return for the Knicks

Following months of absence, Randle is finally set to make a comeback to the hardwood according to reports of Chris Herring of ESPN. The Insider stated, that the 29-year-old said, “his recovery is going well, and he’s expected to be ready to play by or near the start of the season.” In his 46 appearances last season, Randle raised the hopes of New Yorkers for a title-winning season. But his dislocated shoulder soon ruined the dream.

After the injury, the franchise informed that Randle would be out for the next couple of weeks and return in the playoffs. But when things didn’t go as per their plans, it was informed that the 6-foot-8 center would have to undergo surgery. This crushed the dreams of the fans who were expecting to see Randle in the postseason tournament.

Brunson did carry the team till the conference semifinals but the Indiana Pacers were too much for the team to handle. Having Randle beside him might not have caused so much trouble. With the center back on the floor in the 2024-25 season, the Knicks will be able to give tough competition to their Eastern rivals.