Julius Randle named to All-NBA team

(Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Julius Randle has been named second-team All-NBA for the 2020-21 season.

The seventh-year veteran posted career highs this past season in minutes (37.6), points (24.1), rebounds (10.2), assists (6.0), three-point percentage (41.1%), and free throw percentage (81.1%). The former No. 7 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014 NBA Draft led the downtrodden New York Knicks to 41 wins and their first playoff berth since 2013

Welcome to the All-NBA club, @J30_RANDLE. Well deserved! pic.twitter.com/B9kIYA3oSf

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 16, 2021

In the playoffs, Randle and the Knicks were flustered by the Atlanta Hawks winning just one game before being eliminated. The All-Star averaged 18 points on 29.8 percent shooting in the disappointing series. However, there is no denying that this was a major breakthrough year for the former No. 2 overall recruit out of Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian in the class of 2013.

Randle is under contract with the Knicks for one more season where the forward will make just over $18 million next year. After that, the 6-8 big will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2022 season. If Randle can put together another year like this one, a huge payday could be coming his way.

Randle was the only former Kentucky player named to one of the three All-NBA teams this season. Last year, Anthony Davis was a first-team selection but the big man struggled with injuries this season. This makes only five players in the John Calipari era — Randle, Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins — to have received All-NBA honors. Davis remains the only one to appear on the first team.

Here are all of the selections for this year:

First Team: Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard

Second Team: Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, LeBron James

Third Team: Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Rudy Gobert, Jimmy Butler, Paul George