Julius Randle Exclusive: T-Wolves ‘Have All The Talent in The World,’ Must Stay Focused

As the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Julius Randle goes through his 12th season, he’s been a member of a lot of playoff teams — but he’s still searching for that first championship ring and NBA Finals.

The 31-year-old Randle is now a star veteran having been to three All-Star games to go along with three All-NBA selections and a Most Improved Player of the Year award. Randle made his first conference finals appearance last season with the Timberwolves in his first season teaming up with young star Anthony Edwards.

Randle says the key for the Timberwolves to take the next step is “consistency.”

“I just think consistency, maturity for us — we know we have all the talent in the world,” Randle told The Escapist in an exclusive interview. “We’re also a team that loves to play big games, but every game is not a big game. We’ve got to have the right habits and maturity and approach and professionalism every single game.”

After a slow start to the season — they started out the year 10-8 — the Timberwolves are coming off of a big 127-120 win over the Golden State Warriors in Stephen Curry’s return to the Chase Center after an injury layoff.

Randle scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists in the win. The Timberwolves have won seven of their past eight games.

“We’ve done well to start the year, but we also dropped some games that we shouldn’t have,” said Randle. “It’s a long season, so we gotta make sure we continue to build the right habits, because we know we have more than enough in the locker room to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

The veteran forward says the biggest challenge to an 82-game season is the “grind” of it and ensuring you stay healthy. He says you’re already starting to see guys suffer serious injuries 25 games into the season.

“It really is about approach,” said Randle of the challenge of an 82-game season. “You get 25 games into the season, right now everybody’s body is starting to break down. You see guys out with injuries, calf strains, hamstring strains, two to four weeks. It’s a grind and obviously you prepare and train in the summer, but you can’t really simulate that.”

Randle: Mentally tough teams win the championships

Randle says the teams that approach it the best and power through the mental grind of a season are the ones that end up as NBA champions. 

“You get 25 games into the season like we are, you’re wearing down, you’re breaking down, you’re flying everywhere,” said Randle. “You’re getting in at two o’clock in the morning. You’re playing back-to-backs. It’s a mental grind. All of that different type of stuff that you can’t really simulate.

“It’s tough, but the teams that power through it and continue to do the right things, continue to have the right approach to consistent habits, continue to play the right way and make the right plays, those are the teams that you see in the end, when it’s Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals or Game 7 of the NBA Finals.”

The three-time All-Star forward — who has played in 30 games and has been to the playoffs three times — says that’s the battle that every team and player are going through right now in their quest to win the NBA Finals.

“The teams that build those habits when they fight through those things, they do the right things when adversity hits, or whatever it is, those are the teams that come out on top,” said Randle of championship teams. “That’s the battle that we’re fighting right now. Every team is fighting the same battle. The teams that do it the right way are usually the teams that hold the trophy.”

Randle: Anthony Edwards wants to be great every night

If the Timberwolves are going to take that next step into going from a great team into the team to beat, they’re going to rely on the continued development of young star Anthony Edwards.

The 24-year-old continues to establish himself as one of the top players in the NBA, with Edwards averaging 28.7 points per game (seventh best in the NBA) on 50.0% from the field and 41.6% from beyond the arc.

Edwards is already a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection. His points per game has gone up every season since he entered the NBA during the 2020-21 season. While the Timberwolves have been to the conference finals in each of the past two seasons, they’ve won just two total games in those series.

If Edwards takes that next step into being arguably the best player in the NBA much in the way Shai-Gilgeous Alexander did last year, the Timberwolves could soon be the next Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I think just what makes him great is just his mindset and his approach,” said Randle of Edwards. “He wants to be great. He wants to prove that he’s great every single night. He puts that out there, like he sets the bar for himself to play at that level. The energy and the mindset of how he goes out there, makes everybody else around him want to be great, too. I think that’s the best thing. He leads by example, which I think is the best way to lead.”

And when asked who the best player in the NBA (not on the Timberwolves) is, Randle names the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic without much hesitation.

“Jokic,” said Randle on who the best player in the NBA is.