Julius Randle has been outstanding for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs.
Back at the start of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves were shaken up by a big trade. The move brought Julius Randle to the team to replace former number one overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, who was the franchise star for several years before Edwards came in.
The widely held view was that the Timberwolves lost the trade. But recently it is looking like it is win-win.
During his stint with the New York Knicks, Randle had a history of bad playoff performances.
But this season he has reset the narrative. His size and ability to score the basketball have unlocked the Minnesota Timberwolves offense, which was earlier very reliant on Anthony Edwards.
Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty ImagesJulius Randle has registered historic stats
In his first playoff run with the Timberwolves, Randle has averaged 23.9PPG, 5.9 RPG and as many assists on 50.9% shooting from the field.
These numbers make him only the fifth player in the last 60 years to average these splits in their first 10 playoff games for a team.
LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Willie Anderson and Walter Davis are the only four players to achieve the same numbers.
Randle, who was drafted by the LA Lakers, stated how Kobe Bryant helped him early in his career, and how this is impacting him now.
After struggling with the Knicks in the playoffs, many started writing off his ability in pressure situations.
But the forward has stepped up in every statistical category for the Timberwolves and will be key to their chances to win it all.
In 10 playoff games, Julius Randle is averaging 23.9 PPG on 50.9 FG%, 5.9 RPG and 5.9 APG.
In the past 60 years, he joins Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Willie Anderson and Walter Davis to average 20.0+ PPG/50.0+ FG%/5.0+ RPG/5.0+ APG in their first 10 playoff games with a team. pic.twitter.com/l9Ef5nWERy
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) May 17, 2025
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Julius Randle’s fit with the Timberwolves is what’s helping him
There were moments earlier in the season where it looked like Randle would not work out with the Timberwolves.
But as the season progressed, he became an instrumental part of the team.
Rudy Gobert recently heaped praise on Randle’s work ethic and this is something that a lot of the other players on the roster have also noticed.
As a veteran, Randle is instilling some great values in his teammates and coach Chris Finch has also stated that before.
His raw physicality makes it difficult for opponents to guard him, to make things worse, he has phenomenal footwork and can make shots that are tough to stop.
Heading into the Conference Finals, where their opponents are either the OKC Thunder or the Denver Nuggets, the Timberwolves can expect a tough fight.
Last year, the Dallas Mavericks dominated in the third round and there was nothing they could do about it as KAT could not match the physicality of the Mavs players.
That will be no problem this time around with Randle on the roster as he is not a player who backs down from anyone and that will be a great help for the team.