Dealing with a potentially career-ending injury, the process of establishing himself in the NBA, as well as a surprising trade, the nba career of Julius Randle has had its share of ups and downs. However, Randle credits tutelage from the late, great Kobe Bryant has helped Randle navigate the tough times.
Speaking with the media recently, Randle had this to say about tackling adversity in his career:
“I’ve battled through a lot in my career, to be honest. I mean my first game in my career, broke my leg, so I’ve been through a lot. I had a great mentor in Kobe, who didn’t necessarily let me pout or let me get down on myself. His thing was,’ alright, what’s next? How can you get better, how can you improve?’ I always took that mentality with me.
Growing up, my mom raised me to be a hard worker and [to] not feel sorry for myself. I just think it’s in my DNA, it’s just a part of who I am, so I look forward to the challenges, the adversity, all that different type of stuff; it provides room for growth.”
It seems that Randle did take heed of Kobe’s wise counsel and adhered to the work ethic his mother instilled in him. Randle overcame that aforementioned broken leg suffered in his very first game, and was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player in the 2021-22 season, after a campaign in which the former Kentucky Wildcat averaged 24.1 points and 10.2 rebounds. Randle has also become a three-time NBA All-Star and a 2-time All-NBA performer. This season, Randle averaged 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per contest in his first season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has helped lead Minnesota to the 3-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors in their Western Conference Semifinals series. He scored 31 points on 11-21 shooting to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the Wolves’ 117-110 win in Game 4.
