The way Julius Randle received the NBA’s Most Improved Player award is a moment he’ll never forget.
The Knicks All-Star power forward was surprised with the award after practice on Tuesday when his biggest fan delivered him the plaque — his 4-year-old son Kyden.
Kyden, who wears his hair in braids to match Randle’s signature hairstyle, teamed up with the Knicks for the surprise, which was documented on the team’s social media channels. Kyden sported a No. 30 Randle jersey as he walked onto the court at MSG to present his dad with the award.
Randle was all smiles amid applause from his teammates as Kyden approached him. His wife, Kalore founder Kendra Randle, stood nearby and documented the sweet moment on Instagram stories.
“It was amazing,” Randle said of getting the award from Kyden. “That kid there has completely changed my life, changed my views on life and really made me realize what’s important. To have him present me with the award, to be able to experience it – to have him experience these moments with me, that means a lot. He may not even truly understand it all. But for me as a dad it’s really cool to be able to have him experience these things.”
Kendra and Kyden attend nearly every game of Randle’s and the fashion designer often shares videos of Kyden emulating his dad’s moves on a toy hoop at home.
Randle often speaks about his special bond with his son, whether it’s on social media or in interviews. In late April, Kyden joined his dad during a virtual interview on ESPN’s “The Jump.”
The city of New York has embraced the Randle family with open arms as the 6-foot-8 star helped transform the Knicks into playoff contenders for the first time since 2013.
Randle won this season’s Most Improved Player by a landslide, receiving 98 out of 100 first-place votes.
In the regular season, he averaged career highs with 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists. He’s drastically improved in every statical category, especially his percentage from 3-point range, which went from 27.7 percent to 41.1 percent.
Randle and the Knicks will try to even their first-round playoff series against the Hawks in Game 2 Wednesday night.
