It was just last week when Tom Thibodeau stood on a stage and introduced Julius Randle.

“We all know how great he is,” Thibodeau said into a microphone. “Three-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA. Very special person.”

Randle, a few minutes later, had a basketball court named after him in the South Bronx. Why? He helped raise more than $1.3 million for the high school, the Earl Monroe Renaissance School, with dozens of students in attendance for the Sept. 25 groundbreaking ceremony.

“There’s a financial component [to the charity work], but more importantly, it’s the time Julius puts into it,” Thibodeau said. “We want all our players to be invested like that.”