Depending on what day NBA fans see Julius Randle play, they are likely to have very different opinions of his game. In the early part of his career, he was a promising versatile forward that could seemingly do a little bit of everything. For a brief time with the New Orleans Pelicans and the New York Knicks, Randle appeared poised to elevate his game amongst the very best in the league.
More recently, New York Knicks fans have wondered aloud whether the team wouldn’t be better off trading him and letting younger players get an opportunity. He has been a difficult player to figure out, but it is hard to deny that he still possesses the talent to make an impactful difference in the league.
Julius Randle – Childhood
Julius Deion Randle’s story begins on November 29, 1994, in Dallas, Texas. Randle and his sister Nastassia were raised by a single mother, Carolyn Kyles. The children and mom would often play basketball together growing up since Kyles played the sport in college at the University of Texas-Arlington.
Randle would play his mother in many games of one on one, most of which he lost as a young boy. However, he fondly remembers finally defeating Kyles in one of these matchups in fourth grade.
As one might imagine, raising two children as a single mother was not easy, but Kyles worked hard to give Julius and his sister a foundation for success. Randle’s favorite player growing up was none other than future teammate and Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, and Kyles would do the best she could to buy Bryant’s memorabilia for her son.
Kyles was also instrumental in teaching Randle about hard work, and controlling his emotions during times of adversity. She once told her son that she didn’t want him to wear the number 30(her number in college) unless he planned on being an excellent player himself.
Even though Randle did not come from wealthy means, as a young basketball player, he had experiences that rarely come to pass for most 10 and 11-year-olds. Former NBA player Jeff Webster was employed as an assistant coach for a new AAU team called the Texas Titans and recruited Randle as a fifth grader to join the team.
This wasn’t just any youth squad. It was founded by billionaire Kenny Trout, who had made over $3 billion selling the company he founded, Excel Communications. Players on the Titans had access to private jets, meals, and housing. Before Randle ever made it to the NBA, he essentially got to experience the same lifestyle. This motivated him to work harder on the court and in the classroom since he realized he was extremely fortunate to be a part of the Titans.
Julius Randle – High School
Julius Randle played high school basketball at Prestonwood Christian Academy, about a half hour away from Dallas. It didn’t take long for the program to see what type of talent they had in Randle. Using his superior athleticism and strength, teammates and opponents alike had very little chance against the bruising style he brought to the table.
Despite not being exclusively a post player, Randle seemed to embrace and absorb all the contact that came his way. Because of his brilliance, Prestonwood captured three Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools championships in Randle’s four years in high school. The first of those three championships came when Randle was a freshman, averaging 15 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game.
He almost left high school on a sour note but worked his way back from a foot injury to help Prestonwood win another TAPPS title. During the stretch playoff run in his senior season, he averaged over 28 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks. His resume cemented him as arguably the greatest player in school history.
Julius Randle – Los Angeles Lakers
With Kobe Bryant at the twilight of his career, the Los Angeles Lakers were desperate to infuse their roster with some young talent. Los Angeles drafted Julius Randle with the seventh overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. However, they would have to wait a little longer to see what they had with their lottery pick. 14 minutes into his NBA debut, Randle broke his leg in a game against the Houston Rockets. It was an extremely tough set of circumstances for the rookie and the franchise, who would not appear in another game that season.
Los Angeles had their worst season in franchise history in 2015-2016, but there were reasons for optimism. In addition to sending Bryant off into the sunset, Randle came back and played in 81 games, averaging a double-double. It was extremely encouraging to see him overcome the dreaded injury-prone label that could’ve followed him for the rest of his career.
As a pillar of stability during some rough years, Randle continued to work hard and improve his game. Head coach Luke Walton was impressed with the way he handled his removal from the starting lineup in 2017-2018 and continued to put his head down in order to do what was best for the team. However, it became clear that the Lakers were going to need to be more aggressive with talent upgrades to their roster if they wanted to compete. Randle was not going to be a part of those long-term plans.
Julius Randle – New Orleans Pelicans
Facing somewhat of a tepid market, Randle signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans in hopes of rehabilitating his value around the NBA. Perhaps aided in a strange way by the uncertain situation surrounding star player Anthony Davis, Randle showed out with New Orleans.
He displayed a level of high-end talent that many league executives thought he had coming out of Kentucky. In a contract year, he posted averages of over 21 points per game, nearly nine rebounds per game, and three assists per contest. It was promising that the former Wildcats star made the best of an awkward scenario, and was hopeful that a team would recognize what type of skills he could contribute in the modern NBA.
Julius Randle – New York Knicks
With lots of available cap space, the New York Knicks had room to allocate a significant contract to an up-and-coming player. Julius Randle ended up signing with the Knicks as an unrestricted free agent for three years and $62 million. Similar to the Lakers and the Pelicans, New York was in transition mode as well and needed to stabilize the franchise with a player entering his prime.
The 2019-2020 season did not yield much in the way of wins, but Randle had a chance to get his feet wet in the Big Apple. He was the unquestioned facilitator of the offense, especially after New York sent Marcus Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the season.
With no one expecting very much from the Knicks heading into the 2020-2021 campaign, Randle put forth a level of offseason dedication that helped set the stage for what was to come.
New head coach Tom Thibodeau was not going to accept any less than 100% from his star players, and the veteran forward knew he had to come into camp in peak shape. In one of the most unlikely stories in recent NBA history, the New York Knicks secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, in major part due to Randle’s brilliant campaign.
He made the Eastern Conference All-Star team while averaging a career-high in points, assists, rebounds, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage. Randle simply was a different player and several levels above anything he had ever displayed before in his career. He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award that season and was named to the All-NBA team as well. Unfortunately for Randle and Knicks fans, New York’s magical season came to an end at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
Julius Randle – NBA Future
Since their playoff loss to the Hawks in 2021, things have gone downhill for Randle with the Knicks. The fan base is no longer fully convinced that he can be the type of player to lead them back to the postseason, despite his numbers remaining impressive by all objective accounts. However, his talent cannot be questioned, and he can still put it all together, whether that is in New York or with a different team.
It is difficult to predict what type of team would be interested in Julius Randle if the Knicks were serious about moving him. Around the NBA trade deadline, there were rumors that the Sacramento Kings could try to make a deal for him, but that appears to no longer be a possibility since their acquisition of Domantas Sabonis.
What pick was Julius Randle?
Julius Randle was the seventh-overall pick for Los Angeles Lakers in the 2014 draft.
How much is Julius Randle contract?
Julius’ New York Knicks contract is a whopping $117,089,280 lasting for four years. This amounts to nearly $30 million annually.
Is Julius Randle a good shooter?
Randle used to be one of the worst shooters in the league with just 33.6 percent from the three point line. In 2022, through training and dedication, he managed to improve his career accuracy to 41.1 percent turning him into a decent shooter.
What College did Julius Randle go to?
Julius Randle left high school as the third-ranked prospect in ESPN’s top 100 list for the class of 2013, only behind Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins. He could’ve attended any major division one university in the United States, but Randle committed to the University of Kentucky. Randle signed with the program in part due to the relationship he had with assistant coach Kenny Payne, with whom he would later reunite in New York.
It was apparent from the first game that Randle would leave Lexington after one season, but he had high hopes for his stint there. The 2014 NCAA Tournament championship game was being held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, and the young man dreamt of cutting down the nets in his hometown area.
The Wildcats came extremely close to delivering on that vision but lost in the national championship game to the University of Connecticut. Randle had nothing to be ashamed of, however, finishing his freshman season with averages of 15 points and just over 10 rebounds per game. As expected, Randle declared for the NBA Draft shortly thereafter.
