He has missed the last two months with a shoulder injury, but desperately tried to avoid undergoing surgery. Now, it has been announced that star will, indeed, undergo shoulder surgery, and postseason. The news comes as there was a stagnation in updates from the team regarding the status of Randle. He dislocated his shoulder on January 27, his last day of play, and has missed every game since. Randle has consistently rehabilitated and practiced during that time, with the hope of returning to the court this season and propelling the Knicks to a deep playoff push. But on Thursday, those dreams were shattered as the team announced that Randle would need the surgery. After consulting with doctors, it was decided that surgery would be the only option. If he receives it soon, he will be on track to return for the start of the 2024-25 season. The Knicks said that following the surgery, Randle would be re-evaluated in September. Crushing Blow to
New York The loss of Randle will severely damage the Knicks’ playoff hopes, as the team in January with Randle, , and OG Anunoby on the court together. That team went 14-2 in January and dominated the league, appearing like the team that could beat anybody come playoffs. But now, they will officially be without Randle for this year’s playoffs, which will be a big blow. In 46 games this season, the 6-foot-8 center averaged 24 points per game, along with 9.2 rebounds and 5 assists this season. He also shot 47.2 percent from the field en route to his third All-Star selection, though he was already injured at that point. Randle is a valuable player that the Knicks will have to be without for the playoffs. But the team has already appeared to pivot towards life without the superstar, as indicated by Josh Hart a few days ago. “I'm looking at it like this is the team we're going to have. I think that's how we have to approach it, that those guys aren't coming back and obviously we'll be pleasantly surprised if they come back…we’ve got to approach every game and the end of this season that those guys aren't coming back, and if they do, be pleasantly surprised.” —Josh Hart Other Key Injuries Plague the Knicks OG Anunoby is another starter who is still sidelined with an injury, of the elbow. He also injured the elbow in late January and returned for a few games in March, but a re-aggravation of the elbow has sidelined him again. The team has stated that Anunoby , but with only seven games remaining in the regular season, time is running out. The Knicks have fallen to fifth in the Eastern Conference thanks to a three-game losing streak. The East remains a tight race, with several teams within just games of each other. The loss of Randle will affect New York’s ability to jump some spots to gain a higher seed, which would help them out in the playoffs. But if the team really has shifted their mentality to play without key pieces, they will need to execute that on the court starting Thursday against the .