Julius Deion Randle (born November 29, 1994) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Julius is a three-time NBA All-Star. He has also been named to the All-NBA Team twice. In 2021, he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award.

Before joining the NBA, Randle played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was named a third-team All-American. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him in 2014 as the seventh overall pick. Sadly, he broke his leg in his first NBA game. After four years with the Lakers, he played for the New Orleans Pelicans. Then, he joined the New York Knicks before moving to the Timberwolves.

High School Basketball Career
College Basketball Career
Professional Basketball Career
National Team Career
Career statistics
- NBA
  - Regular season
  - Playoffs
- College
Personal Life
See also

High School Basketball Career

Randle performs a reverse dunk during the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

Julius Randle went to Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas. Many people thought he was one of the top five high school players in 2013.

In August 2012, Randle won a dunk contest. The next day, he was named one of the MVPs of the Elite 24 game. He scored 27 points in that game. Experts like Rivals.com called him a "five-star recruit." This means he was one of the best young players in the country. They ranked him as the No. 1 power forward.

During his senior year, Randle broke his foot. He missed three months of playing. But he came back in March 2013. He led his team to win their third state title in four years. In his senior season, he averaged 32.5 points and 22.5 rebounds per game.

On March 20, 2013, Randle decided to play for Kentucky. He was chosen to play in the 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. This is a special game for the best high school players. In 2023, Prestonwood Christian Academy retired his jersey number 30. He was the first athlete from the school to have his number retired.

College Basketball Career

On February 28, 2014, Julius Randle was named a semi-finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year award. He helped Kentucky reach the national championship game. They lost to the University of Connecticut.

Randle had a great season with 24 "double-doubles." A double-double is when a player gets 10 or more in two stats, like points and rebounds. This was the second-most double-doubles in Kentucky's history. It was also the most ever for a freshman player. He averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

On April 22, 2014, Randle decided to enter the NBA draft. This meant he would leave college early to play professionally.

Professional Basketball Career

Los Angeles Lakers (2014–2018)

Randle with the Lakers in 2015

The Los Angeles Lakers picked Julius Randle as the seventh player in the 2014 NBA draft. But in his very first NBA game on October 28, 2014, he broke his right leg. He had surgery and missed the rest of his first season.

Randle came back to play in July 2015. One year after his injury, he scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds in his first game back. On December 2, he grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds. On January 29, 2016, he scored a career-high 23 points.

On March 25, he got his first "triple-double." This means he had 10 or more in three stats: 13 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists. He was the youngest Lakers player to do this since Magic Johnson. Six days later, he made a game-winning shot against the Miami Heat. On April 6, he set a new career high with 20 rebounds.

In the 2016–17 season, Randle played in almost every game. On November 30, 2016, he matched his career high with 20 rebounds. On March 15, 2017, he scored a new career-high of 32 points.

For the 2017–18 season, Randle started as a backup player. But he played very well as a backup center. He returned to the starting lineup on December 29, 2017. On December 31, he scored 29 points and had 15 rebounds. On March 11, 2018, he had a career-high 36 points. Randle played in all 82 games that season. As a starter, he averaged 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.

New Orleans Pelicans (2018–2019)

On July 9, 2018, Randle signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans. In his first game for the Pelicans on October 17, he scored 25 points. On November 19, he got his sixth career triple-double. He had 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in just 25 minutes.

On December 3, he scored a career-high 37 points. Two days later, he had 27 points and 18 rebounds. On March 15, 2019, he scored an amazing 45 points. After this season, he chose to become a free agent.

New York Knicks (2019–2024)

On July 9, 2019, Randle signed a three-year contract with the New York Knicks.

On February 16, 2021, Randle scored 44 points. He also made a career-high seven three-pointers. On February 23, Randle was chosen as an NBA All-Star for the first time. On April 16, he tied his season high with 44 points again. He also had 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

After the season, Randle was named the NBA Most Improved Player. He received almost all the first-place votes. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team. However, Randle struggled in the playoffs that year. The Knicks lost in the first round.

The Knicks gave Randle a new contract on August 27, 2021. On March 7, 2022, Randle scored a career-high 46 points. He also made eight three-pointers. On April 2, his coach said Randle would likely miss the rest of the season due to a quad injury.

On December 28, 2022, Randle had 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. On January 15, 2023, he scored 42 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He was the first Knicks player since Patrick Ewing in 1996 to have at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in a game. On February 2, 2023, Randle was named an NBA All-Star for the second time.

On February 24, Randle tied his career-high with 46 points again. On March 3, he scored 43 points and made a game-winning three-pointer. On March 20, Randle scored a new career-high of 57 points! This was the most points by a Knicks player since Carmelo Anthony in 2014. On March 30, the Knicks announced Randle would miss time with an ankle injury. He played through injuries in the playoffs, helping his team reach the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

On February 1, 2024, Randle was named an All-Star for the third time. On April 4, it was announced that Randle needed shoulder surgery. This meant he would miss the rest of the 2024 season.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2024–present)

On October 2, 2024, Randle was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This trade involved three teams.

On October 22, 2024, Randle played his first game for the Timberwolves. He scored 16 points and had nine rebounds. The Timberwolves lost to his old team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

National Team Career

In 2016, Julius Randle joined the US Select Team. This team practiced against the main U.S. national team. They helped the national team get ready for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	L.A. Lakers	1	0	13.6	.333	—	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	2.0
2015–16	L.A. Lakers	81	60	28.2	.429	.278	.715	10.2	1.8	.7	.4	11.3
2016–17	L.A. Lakers	74	73	28.8	.488	.270	.723	8.6	3.6	.7	.5	13.2
2017–18	L.A. Lakers	82*	49	26.7	.558	.222	.718	8.0	2.6	.5	.5	16.1
2018–19	New Orleans	73	49	30.6	.524	.344	.731	8.7	3.1	.7	.6	21.4
2019–20	New York	64	64	32.5	.460	.277	.733	9.7	3.1	.8	.3	19.5
2020–21	New York	71	71	37.6*	.456	.411	.811	10.2	6.0	.9	.3	24.1
2021–22	New York	72	72	35.3	.411	.308	.756	9.9	5.1	.7	.5	20.1
2022–23	New York	77	77	35.5	.459	.343	.757	10.0	4.1	.6	.3	25.1
2023–24	New York	46	46	35.4	.472	.311	.781	9.2	5.0	.5	.3	24.0
Career		641	561	32.0	.470	.333	.748	9.4	3.7	.7	.4	19.1
All-Star		2	0	16.3	.583	.200	—	2.0	2.0	.5	.0	7.5

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021	New York	5	5	36.1	.298	.333	.852	11.6	4.0	.6	.0	18.0
2023	New York	10	10	33.0	.374	.258	.709	8.3	3.6	.5	.3	16.6
Career		15	15	34.0	.344	.283	.756	9.4	3.7	.5	.2	17.1

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2013–14	Kentucky	40	40	30.8	.501	.167	.706	10.4	1.4	.5	.8	15.0

Personal Life

Julius Randle's mother, Carolyn Kyles, also played basketball at Texas. Julius is a Christian. He would visit the team chapel before every home game in college.

Randle is married to Kendra Shaw. They had their first child in December 2016.

Julius Randle facts for kids

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