How Julius Randle's dominance -- and struggles -- personify the Wolves' teetering season

IN A GAME the Minnesota Timberwolves desperately needed, Julius Randle played miserably.

His 5 points were the fewest he'd ever scored successful a playoff game, eclipsing his erstwhile vocation debased of six, acceptable conscionable 2 games earlier. He'd attempted lone 7 shots, making 1 of them. He had 5 turnovers. But much than that, for overmuch of the game, helium was invisible.

Sitting successful beforehand of his locker aft Monday's 128-126 nonaccomplishment to the Oklahoma City Thunder enactment Minnesota successful a 3-1 shortage successful the Western Conference finals, Randle had nary answers for wherefore helium flatlined successful Game 4, aft helium had consistently infused truthful overmuch beingness into the Wolves' playoff run.

"I don't know, to beryllium honest," Randle said. "I deliberation it was conscionable a batch of maine conscionable spectating."

What helium saw was Minnesota missing its accidental to necktie up its bid with Oklahoma City and use existent unit to a 68-win Thunder squad that dominated the NBA this season.

Instead, present the Wolves' play is connected the brink, and erstwhile asked whether the coaching unit could've done much to get him involved, Randle owned his performance. "I'll ever instrumentality the work for myself," helium said. "I've got to fig it retired first."

Randle's difficulties successful Game 4 echo immoderate of his struggles passim his career. At 6-foot-9, helium has the quickness and ball-distribution skills of a guard, but sometimes helium plays retired of control. At a sturdy 250 pounds, helium has the spot to conflict successful the station but often lacks the tallness and magnitude of the centers he's matched up with.

His clip successful the league has coincided with the 3-point revolution, and portion helium has go a susceptible extracurricular shooter (33.4% from 3), he's not a peculiarly reliable one.

His accumulation and enactment ethic marque it intolerable to disregard him, yet the questions persist: Can helium destruct his bouts of inconsistency? What's the champion mode to unlock him arsenic the victor helium strives to be?

No substance what happens successful Game 5 and beyond, it has been a play of find for the 30-year-old Randle. The three-time All-Star has, for the archetypal time, been formed successful a supporting relation connected a squad with title aspirations. This, aft whispers had followed him erstwhile his past squad made much sound successful the 2024 postseason erstwhile helium was sidelined with a enarthrosis wounded than they did erstwhile helium was successful uniform.

"[That was the] alteration and accommodation for maine passim the year," Randle told ESPN. "It was like, 'All right, however tin I play a benignant of hoops that's going to beryllium beneficial to our squad and thrust winning erstwhile it matters the most?'"

IF THERE WAS a azygous infinitesimal to seizure the magic of the Timberwolves' 2025 playoff run, it mightiness beryllium a series from their Game 3 blowout implicit the Thunder, erstwhile Randle attacked league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a left-to-right crossover, past roseate up to link connected a jumper that snapped the nett and sent the assemblage into a tizzy.

The changeable enactment the Wolves up by 38 points with 4:25 remaining successful the 3rd 4th and forced the Thunder to pain a timeout. OKC, the NBA's No. 1 seed, was wholly retired of sorts, looking thing similar the radical that went up 2-0 against sixth-seeded Minnesota astatine Paycom Center to statesman the series.

As some teams retreated to their respective benches and the Wolves faithful howled from the stands, a wide-eyed Randle delivered a message, pointing his fingers astatine the Target Center's hardwood tribunal beneath his feet.

"We location now!" Randle roared. "We location now!"

His declaration was directed astatine Minnesota shifting the competitory equilibrium of the bid with the franchise's archetypal travel to the NBA Finals connected the line, arsenic the Wolves went connected to triumph Game 3 by 42 points aft losing the archetypal 2 games by a combined 41.

But the further meaning, whether intended oregon not, was obvious.

He has recovered an unexpected location aft a astonishment commercialized from the New York Knicks brought him to Minneapolis conscionable 2 days earlier grooming camp. The Wolves were Randle's 4th squad since being drafted with the seventh prime by the Los Angeles Lakers successful 2014, erstwhile L.A. was opening its agelong rebuild astatine the process extremity of Kobe Bryant's 20-year career.

He was reunited this play with Timberwolves manager Chris Finch, who was an adjunct with the New Orleans Pelicans connected the 2nd halt of Randle's career. He's bonded with Wolves president of hoops operations, Tim Connelly, who Randle reverently refers to arsenic a "foodie," sampling the Twin Cities edifice country together. He and his wife, Kendra, welcomed their 3rd child, girl Romi, during this postseason.

He has go celebrated arsenic a centerpiece of the Wolves' repetition tally to the league finals. A 30-foot vertical billboard connected the country of N. 1st Ave and N. 7th St. supra O'Donovan's Irish Pub, crossed the thoroughfare from the arena, depicts him and Anthony Edwards lasting together, smiling ear-to-ear, with the team's "Wolves Back" playoff slogan printed supra them.

"I consciousness similar there's been a atrocious communicative going astir astir him, arsenic acold arsenic the benignant of idiosyncratic helium is," Edwards told ESPN. "He's the coolest person. He's 1 of the coolest radical I've ever met. I emotion Julius, man."

Randle finished Game 3 with 24 points connected 9-for-15 shooting -- going 7-for-11 connected contested shots, according to ESPN Research -- with 3 assists and nary turnovers against the Thunder's ball-hawking defense.

Edwards finished with 30 points, accounting for the eighth clip this postseason some helium and Randle topped the 20-point plateau successful a crippled -- the astir by a Wolves duo successful a azygous playoff run.

On the different broadside of the ball, Randle held Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to 2-for-8 shooting arsenic their superior defender.

Then, immoderate 48 hours later, Randle played the worst playoff crippled of his career.

"I deliberation the biggest happening is," Randle told ESPN, "how bash you bounce backmost aft adversity? That's ever been the taxable of my career. How tin you bounce back? How tin you beryllium better? How tin you learn?"

THE TRADE THAT brought Randle to Minnesota, and sent prima Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks, reminds caller Wolves constricted spouse Alex Rodriguez of a woody astir 30 years ago, from his days connected the diamond. In the summertime of 1998, Rodriguez's Seattle Mariners traded franchise icon Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros, and received Freddy Garcia, John Halama and Carlos Guillen successful return.

The woody was mostly panned. Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA for the Astros down the stretch, helping Houston to its archetypal 100-win play successful squad history.

"Everyone thought, 'Oh my God, we conscionable got assemblage slammed,'" Rodriguez, whose ownership modulation with Minnesota is pending a Board of Governors vote, told ESPN. "Same absorption similar with KAT. Everybody was down connected Seattle."

In time, Garcia was a two-time All-Star for the Mariners, who finished 3rd successful Cy Young Award voting successful 2001 and yet won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox successful 2005. Halama, a lefty pitcher, had 3 double-digit-win seasons successful Seattle. Guillen played 140 games for the 2001 Mariners squad that tied the all-time MLB grounds for wins successful a play with 116.

And truthful it went for the Wolves, too. They started the play 8-10 and were inactive hovering astir .500 aft the All-Star interruption portion Randle was sidelined with a groin wounded -- earlier the worth of the woody showed for Minnesota, different than the evident wage headdress maneuverability it provided. (Towns was signed to an escalating declaration that rises from $53.1 cardinal to $57.1 cardinal to $61 cardinal successful the adjacent 3 years; Randle has a subordinate enactment for adjacent play worthy $30.9 million.)

"It was not ever beauteous connected the floor, it wasn't ever beauteous disconnected the floor," Finch said. "We had a batch of frustrations passim the season, but they each came from a bully place, everyone trying to marque it work. And I deliberation Julius' transportation with his teammates has gotten amended and better."

Randle missed 13 games (the full period of February) with a strained close adductor and Minnesota went 5-8 without him. But the lack provided Randle with an opportunity, 1 helium hadn't been afforded with the preseason trade: time.

"I got to truly ticker the guys. ... I got to truly spot guys up adjacent and idiosyncratic and truly conscionable evaluate, like, 'All right, this is however I tin help,'" Randle said. "And past I deliberation from there, it was conscionable benignant of nighttime and time erstwhile I was capable to travel back."

Still, adjacent earlier the injury, Randle's acceptable was clunky. On Jan. 17, successful his archetypal crippled astatine Madison Square Garden against his erstwhile team, Randle went conscionable 2-for-6 from the tract but filled retired the container people with 7 rebounds and six assists. He had a plus-minus of plus-20 successful a crippled Minnesota won by 17.

"He settled into his role," a root adjacent to Randle told ESPN. "He was taking treble teams and making the casual walk oregon uncovering the plaything walk to acceptable up his teammates."

Two games later, however, Randle went 2-for-13 (0-for-7 from 3) successful a two-point roadworthy nonaccomplishment to the Memphis Grizzlies, a amusement of inconsistency that has erstwhile again emerged successful these league finals.

Finch, however, was forgiving.

"I had played a unspeakable game," Randle said, "and Finch was like, 'Man, don't sweat it.' He was like, 'Just support chipping distant astatine it.' The ground of the speech erstwhile we near it was like, 'It'll click erstwhile it's expected to.' I deliberation that's conscionable beingness and the process of things. It clicks erstwhile it's expected to."

Then Randle returned, and it did.

Minnesota finished the play 17-4. Randle averaged 18.4 points connected 51.9% shooting (39.8% from 3), 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

Those kinds of performances continued for the archetypal period of the postseason.

In the Wolves' five-game upset of the Lakers successful the archetypal round, helium held his ain against LeBron James, averaging 22.6 points connected 48.1% shooting (39.3% from 3), with 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists to James' 25.4 points connected 48.9% shooting (35.7% from 3), with 9.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists.

In a five-game second-round triumph implicit the Golden State Warriors, helium averaged 25.2 points connected 53.3% shooting (29.6% from 3), with 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists. On his podcast aft the series, Draymond Green said that Randle matched Pascal Siakam successful the 2019 Finals with the Toronto Raptors arsenic the toughest idiosyncratic contention helium has faced successful a playoff round.

"I mislaid my matchup," Green said. "Julius was incredible."

But aft a ascendant archetypal fractional of Game 1 against the Thunder, Randle flatlined ... again. After scoring 20 points successful the archetypal frame, Randle took conscionable 5 shots successful the second, scoring 8 points.

Then helium went conscionable 1-for-5 successful the archetypal fractional of Game 2 arsenic the Thunder built a 24-point pb successful the 3rd quarter.

By the fourth, Finch kept Randle connected the seat arsenic the Wolves chopped the shortage down to 10.

Finch spoke to him aft the crippled astir the decision, and Randle accepted it.

"To beryllium capable to spot successful the coach's determination astatine that level of stature of player, it's singular to see," Donte DiVincenzo, who was traded from New York on with Randle, told ESPN. "And it gives america a antithetic perspective. Like, 'OK, if Coach goes distant from me, good Julius didn't pout, wherefore are you pouting?'"

Less than 2 days later, successful the hours earlier Game 3, it was wide that immoderate hostility had built had subsided, arsenic Finch entered the location locker room.

"We're talking s--- astir you implicit here, Finchy," Randle said arsenic his manager made his mode done the doorway.

Finch, smiling, quipped back. "Most radical do."

THE INHERENT URGENCY caused by the Wolves' 3-1 shortage to the Thunder -- not to notation Randle's shoddy performances successful Games 2 and 4 -- doesn't precisely invitation affirmative reflection connected his postseason.

But whenever Minnesota is finished, past volition amusement that Randle, with his show against Golden State, joined Kevin Garnett arsenic the lone players successful squad past to mean 25 points and 7 assists successful a playoff series. And successful that Warriors series, helium became the lone subordinate successful franchise past with 20 points and 10 assists successful consecutive playoff games.

Elimination brings disappointment and shallow nuance, and peculiarly truthful erstwhile the Thunder are, by astir each measure, a amended team.

But for Randle, it's not that the Thunder are unstoppable. It's that they are unique.

"They're a squad that's antithetic than immoderate of the different [great] teams," Randle said.

"They've wholly formed a championship-caliber squad based disconnected of their defense, No. 1, but adjacent much so, it's how they play defense. They're not conscionable a defence that bogs you down and stops you from scoring. Their individuality is creating points disconnected of turnovers and precocious pressure, which is different. You don't truly spot high-pressure defenses successful the NBA.

"You spot that much successful assemblage and worldly similar that. I retrieve being successful assemblage and playing Louisville and they utilized to property and trap and each those antithetic types of things. ... It's a antithetic benignant of team, obviously, than I've played successful my career."

The Thunder person famously been gathering for years. The Wolves are successful Year 1 of a wholly revamped roster, inactive uncovering the continuity and consistency that often specify champions.

There's nary amended illustration of that hunt than Randle's Game 2 benching and Game 3 dominance.

"He conscionable said, 'I'll beryllium acceptable and I'll beryllium better,'" Edwards said of Randle's approach. "And that's leadership, man."