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Recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals with a Game 5 victory over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA playoffs. It was another strong series for Julius Randle, who has overcome some past playoff demons this postseason and has been a legitimate number two option for Minnesota.
The Timberwolves now await a matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who dispatched the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their thrilling second round series on Sunday.
Before Game 1 of the conference finals, Randle got 100% real on what it feels like to still be playing this far into the postseason.
“It's really a grind. You see guys, they're already on their second vacation or they're starting to train… It's just cool to be one of the last four teams playing basketball,” said Randle, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
A breakthrough for Julius Randle
Prior to this year, Julius Randle's playoff career had largely been defined by struggles, dating back to an atrocious first round series against the Atlanta Hawks back in 2021 when he was a member of the New York Knicks.
However, Randle seems to have fully put those shortcomings behind him, providing Anthony Edwards with an elite second option who can punish opposing defenses when they try to switch smaller players onto him.
The Timberwolves will now be going up against the best defensive unit in the NBA in Oklahoma City, and there will be more pressure than ever on Randle to help out Edwards, who will likely be seeing a swarm of Thunder jerseys every time he touches the ball.
However, up to this point, Randle has proven himself up for the challenge, and if he can continue to produce at this level eight more times, then the Minnesota Timberwolves could be hoisting their first Larry O'Brien trophy in a few weeks' time.
Game 1 of the Timberwolves vs Thunder series is slated to tip off at 8:30 PM ET on Tuesday from Oklahoma City. The game will be carried nationally by ESPN.
