Recently, a bit of controversey ensued when it was reported that the New York Knicks did not have any jerseys featuring All-Star power forward Julius Randle's name in their team shop at Madison Square Garden. Randle himself even took to Instagram to address the controversy, with the Knicks star writing, “the truth shall come to light,” with a sunglasses emoji.

It appears that that has now come to pass, as recently, a video posted by a fan online showed that the shop does indeed feature Knicks jerseys (via c00smiiic / Instagram).

Randle has been a bit of a strange figure in Knicks circles ever since joining the team back in 2020. From one perspective, it was only after Randle's arrival that the Knicks slowly began to shift from the league's premier laughing stock into a respectable organization. He has racked up two All-Star appearances in a New York uniform as well as an All-NBA nod to boot.

On the contrary, Randle has turned in two of the worst playoff performances in the history of the NBA in his two postseason appearances in 2021 and 2023. In fact, after his 2023 flameout vs the Miami Heat, “fans” of the Knicks could be seen ripping down a poster of Randle posted outside of Madison Square Garden and stomping it into oblivion.

However, many of the same fans were quick to blame Randle's season-ending injury a season ago as the reason New York was unable to advance further than the second round of the playoffs.

Can the Knicks break through in 2024-25?

 New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) warms up before a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
John Jones-Imagn Images

The Knicks invested heavily this offseason into creating a true contender out of their Motley crew of solid role players that took them to the second round of the playoffs this past season.

New York first raised eyebrows by trading a shocking amount of first round picks for Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges to reunite him with some of his former Villanova Wildcats teammates, while they also resigned small forward OG Anunoby to a maximum contract despite his storied injury history.

The Knicks are still firmly a tier below the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference hierarchy but would seemingly have just as good of a chance as anyone below them to compete for a trip to the conference finals.

In any case, New York's first game of the new season coincidentally will be against those Celtics on October 22 in the league's nationally televised opening week showcase.