After arriving from the New York Knicks via a blockbuster trade, the sometimes clunky style of play that Randle brought to the table didn’t help his approval rating as he tried to find his niche with the Timberwolves. It felt like a marriage that was well on its way to a divorce.

The former Kentucky basketball standout, who tends to fly beneath the radar, has been one of the best players in the 2025 NBA playoffs so far.

Aaron Gordon might be the gold standard of the "struggling leading man to role player" transformation right now. After never finding his place in Orlando, he has become Mr. Nugget in Denver by giving up the on-ball portion of his offensive game,

Julius Randle has developed into a crucial piece for Minnesota, which reached the Western Conference Finals after eliminating the Warriors.

The Timberwolves defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 to advance to the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year.

Fast forward a few months, and Minnesota is headed back to the conference finals in no small part because of Randle, who continued the best stretch of basketball of his postseason -- and probably professional -- life with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting on Wednesday as the Wolves eliminated the Warriors in five games.

Julius Randle anotó 29 puntos, al atinar 13 de 18 tiros para colocar el miércoles a los Timberwolves de Minnesota en las finales de la

Julius Randle knows a thing or two about having a supremely confident teammate, and he put Anthony Edwards on that level. Edwards's postseason play has raised eyebrows around the NBA this season as he has taken his game to another level.