NBA: Knicks’ Julius Randle has left ankle surgery

Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks reacts against the Miami Heat during the fourth quarter in game five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 10, 2023 in New York City. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle has undergone successful arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle, the NBA club announced Saturday.

Randle, who led the Knicks with a career-high 25.1 points as well as 10.0 rebounds this past season, had the operation Friday and will resume basketball activities this summer, according to a team statement.

The 28-year-old American, named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2021, helped the Knicks capture their first victory in a playoff series since 2013 this year, New York dispatching the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games in the first round.

Randle missed the final five games of the regular season with a sprained ankle, his only missed contests of the campaign. He reinjured the ankle in the final game of the Cleveland series and missed the opening game of the Knicks’ second-round series against eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami.

Randle, taken seventh overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014 NBA Draft, has averaged 18.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game over nine seasons with the Lakers, Knicks and New Orleans.