Julius Randle picking up right where he left off since returning to Timberwolves

Minnesota is 8-0 in the last eight games Randle has played overall, and he's doing a bit of everything.

Nolan O'Hara | Mar 6, 2025

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle dribbles past Charlotte Hornets guard Damion Baugh during the second half at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on March 5, 2025. / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves kicked off a five-game winning streak when they beat the Dallas Mavericks on the road on Jan. 22. That was also when Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and Julius Randle had a talk about Randle's fit on the team.

"It's been a process," Randle told reporters after Wednesday night's win over the Charlotte Hornets. "Finch has worked his a** off trying to help me get acclimated and feel comfortable, and we had a talk in Dallas and we were just like, 'Man, like it's going to happen when it's supposed to happen.' Sometimes in life, you can't really force things. You just got to go through bumps and bruises, the trial and error of things and just kind of figure it out and let it happen. That's really what this season has been about, and I just appreciate him keeping confidence in me and I keep confidence in him, obviously."

Coincidentally or not, that was right when things were starting to click for Randle and the Wolves. The win in Dallas was the start of the five-game win streak and Randle was playing some of his best basketball since coming to Minnesota. Just as everything was clicking, Randle unfortunately went down with a groin injury on Jan. 30 against the Utah Jazz, an injury that ultimately forced Randle to miss a month-long stretch. Randle was missed as the Wolves went just 5-8 without him.

But the time off gave Randle a chance to evaluate and recognize when to pick his moments, whether it calls for him setting a screen, cutting, driving and when to playmake. He said the biggest thing he recognized during the injury absence was how he can open things up and create pace. Randle has come back fresh, in shape and he's hardly missed a beat.

"I asked him (Tuesday), '(Randle), what you doing bro because you in shape? You've been gone for 13 games,'" Anthony Edwards said after Wednesday's game. "He's like, 'I've been working.' I'm super happy to have him back because he drove it (Wednesday), I got a wide-open catch-and-shoot 3. I haven't gotten that in super long, so I'm super excited."

That's part of what Randle brings to the table. Aside from Edwards, no one on the Wolves has the same gravity Randle brings when he's attacking the basket. He's routinely able to collapse the defense, and if he doesn't finish at the rim, he's an adept passer who can find his teammates on the perimeter. Randle is a high-usage scorer, something the Wolves knew they'd need, but it's all he can bring to the table that truly makes Minnesota a better team. Randle does a bit of everything.

"(Randle) started out playing a lot like this when he first started playing in training camp, and we told him we needed him to score more, which we thought we did," Finch said. "And he's had some really good scoring games for us, but as it turns out, what we probably needed more of is just this. Just like these all-around games that he's been giving us, particularly like creating pace, getting into the heart of the defense and making the right play."

Wednesday night's game couldn't have been a better example of that as Randle was an assist shy of a triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. In an extended sample size, in the last eight games Randle has played, the Wolves are 8-0. Excluding the Jazz game, when Randle played just 10 minutes before the injury exit, he's averaging 20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game during that stretch, providing that all-around game the Wolves truly need.

Randle was often maligned by Wolves fans early in the season, part of what comes with being the return piece for a beloved franchise staple like Karl-Anthony Towns. It doesn't help that the season didn't initially live up to expectation. But there's no question Minnesota is a better team when Randle is on the court, and there's plenty of time left to make a run down the stretch. With 18 regular-season games remaining, the Wolves are in seventh place in the Western Conference standings with a 35-29 record. Minnesota is just three games out of fifth place and four games out of fourth place.

With things clicking since Randle has returned to the lineup, plus an advantageous schedule down the stretch, there's plenty of reason to believe in these Wolves. The sky is still the limit as we inch closer and closer to the postseason.

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