Julius Randle is one of the most enigmatic players in the NBA. Few will dispute his talent, but the Minnesota Timberwolves star has an iso-centric style of play that has led many to downplay just how significant his impact on the game truly is.
After years of having his quality downplayed by a segment of New York Knicks fans, Randle is doing what he's consistently done, only now with Minnesota: Guiding a team to the playoffs.
Randle is something of a bull in a china shop on offense, barrelling through the lane with his head down and his mind fixed on scoring. He's a more than willing passer, often turning those very drives into opportunities for others to score via the collapse he causes along the defensive interior.
The knock against Randle, however, is that teammates often find themselves playing off of him rather than with him in a more collaborative system.
For as valid as that concern may be, there's no denying that Randle has produced results. He put the Knicks on his back to end an eight-year postseason drought in 2020-21, and co-starred with Jalen Brunson as New York made two more playoff appearances in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Since Randle returned from the groin injury that caused him to miss 13 games in 2024-25, the Timberwolves are experiencing what some Knicks fans downplayed his ability to do for a team: Get them to the playoffs.
Julius Randle is elevating a team to postseason-caliber play—again
Randle's style of play may not be everyone's cup of tea, but subjectivity can only do so much to stifle the sound of results. The bottom line is that he's played a featured role on teams that have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.
That streak is close to being extended to four in five, as Randle's return from injury has directly coincided with Minnesota's rise up the standings.
The Timberwolves have gone 12-3 since Randle returned to the lineup. By comparison, it went 5-8 without him. That alone is reason to believe that the two-time All-NBA honoree is positively influencing the outcome of games.
It certainly doesn't hurt that Minnesota is 8-0 when Randle scores at least 20 points since his return to the rotation—including wins over the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.
In addition to his scoring, one of the driving forces behind the Timberwolves' success has been Randle's emergence as the playmaker the team has desperately needed. He's averaging 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game during the aforementioned 15-game stretch.
Randle has ranked No. 1 on the Timberwolves in assists per game during that time, as well as No. 2 in both scoring and rebounding.
Randle remains a polarizing talent, labeled a player who's capable of dominating games and making costly mistakes in seemingly equal measure. His return has propelled the Timberwolves to new heights, however, giving the team the necessary push toward a long-awaited return to form.
It remains to be seen if Randle's past postseason shortcomings will be overcome in 2025, but against all odds, his return to the lineup has made the Timberwolves a factor again.