Preparing for his 12th NBA season, Julius Randle has been one of the more productive power forwards, particularly over the last five seasons. That has helped him garner accolades, which include being named to three All-Star and two All-NBA teams, as well as winning Most Improved Player in 2020-21. Right now, that 2020-21 season looks like an outlier year, though, when it comes to his 3-point accuracy, and it would behoove the Timberwolves if he could once again approach it.
Julius Randle made 41.1% of his 3-point tries in 2020-21
In the 2019-20 season, his first with the Knicks, Randle was one of the least accurate when it came to his shooting from outside. The 6-foot-9 forward connected on only 27.7% of his 3-point tries. Prior to that year, the seventh overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft had made them at just a 30.7% clip over his career.
Fast forward a year, and Randle drained 41.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc. While he has remained a very good player since, he has a below-average 3-point percentage in the four seasons since.
Turning 31 years old on November 29, Randle has shot 33% from 3-point range since the 2021-22 season. In 2024-25, his first year with the Timberwolves, he made 34.4% from 3-point territory. That’s his best percentage over the last four seasons. Randle also netted 38.5 percent of his 3-point shots in the playoffs.
Again, that 2020-21 season could just remain an outlier for the rest of his career. But, with Anthony Edwards demanding so much attention, it would be huge if Randle could up that accuracy to at least 37-38% and there's evidence that suggests this is possible.
Wolves hope to replace some of Nickeil Alexander-Walker's three-point shooting
Last season, Minnesota was one of the better teams when it came to 3-point shooting. They finished fourth in accuracy (37.7%) and fifth in makes (1,233). They did dip to 35.8% in the playoffs. though.
They also lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency to the Hawks. Alexander-Walker made 1.7 threes per contest in the last two seasons for the Wolves while shooting them at a 38.6% clip. He combined to shoot 38.4% with the Jazz and Minnesota in 2022-23.
Young players such as Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. have the opportunity to replace that 3-point prowess with more playing time. Nevertheless, if Randle can be even a slightly above-average 3-point shooter in 2025-26, the opportunity could be there for the Timberwolves to use the outside shot in a fashion similar to the Celtics in their championship 2023-24 season.