After his first team practice on October 7, 2024, Julius Randle spoke about his first impressions of Minnesota.
“A lot of good food,” Randle said with a smile. “Neighborhoods, the suburbs here are amazing, so I’m really enjoying my time. This is honestly more my speed.”
Julius Randles initial reaction to the city of Minneapolis
“like I said a lot of good food, neighborhoods, the suburbs here are amazing so I’m really enjoying my time. This is honestly more my speed”#wolvesback#wolves#nba pic.twitter.com/JSQP9aHyFd
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) October 7, 2024
Randle raved about the food in Minnesota from Day 1, and that the Minnesota lifestyle is a lot closer to living in Dallas. In nearly every interview, Randle spoke about his desire to stay in Minnesota for various reasons. From Chris Finch to the culture and the food, Randle always sounded like he wanted to stay.
Randle’s production and his mentorship made it a no-brainer to bring him back on a restricted three-year, $100 million contract.
Starting with his introductory press conference, Randle raved about Finch and the relationship they built when they were in New Orleans during the 2018-19 season.
“I wanted him in New York with me because he’s just such a great coach, I’ve always thought he was a genius,” Randle said. “I always say playing there… that is the easiest game my game has ever felt, under Finch.”
Julius Randle on his relationship with Chris Finch
“I wanted him in New York with me because he’s just such a great coach, I’ve always thought he was a genius… I always say playing there… that is the easiest my game had ever felt, under Finch.”#WolvesBack#Wolves#NBA pic.twitter.com/fSMy4I8ys7
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) October 3, 2024
Randle averaged 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 2018-19. The New Orleans Pelicans finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs, but Randle was brilliant despite the team’s poor play.
He had minus-0.2 a net rating and posted 4.2 offensive win shares, the second highest amount in his ten-year career. His 55.5% effective field goal percentage was a career high, and he did almost all of it as the team’s primary scoring threat.
Randle’s faith in Finch allowed him to play his “most meaningful basketball of his career” this season. At first glance, Randle appeared to have a down year. Randle’s 18.7 points per game were a steep drop from the 24.0 he averaged the year before in New York.
He also had 2.1 fewer rebounds per game and a 0.3 drop in assists. The advanced stats show Randle’s enormous impact. He posted the second-best net rating of his career at plus-3.4. That was thanks to posting his third-best offensive rating (115.0) and his fourth-best defensive rating in a season (111.6).
Randle had his second-best season in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65) and a career high in assist ratio of 20.7. He also had his best effective field goal shooting season since that 2018-19 season in New Orleans at 54.2%.
He did all this despite his usage percentage falling to 24.6%, its lowest since the 2016-17 season. That reflects Randle’s impact on offense; the Wolves assisted on scoring more often when he was on the court. He shot with incredible efficiency and had one of his most impactful seasons by net ratings. With a full offseason of finding Randle’s role and fit on the team, one could assume playing for the Wolves will become even easier.
When it comes to off the court, Randle also had an immeasurable impact on the Wolves, notably on Anthony Edwards.
“Julius is a consummate worker,” said Chris Finch. “He’s always in the gym. Both of them love to come back and get extra shots up at night.”
“Actually, one thing I have seen now is Ant goes to the gym super early,” Finch added. “On game day, Julius will go in there three-and-a-half hours before and get his work in when no one else is in the gym, and Ant follows him now.”
Chris Finch on how Julius Randle has affected Anthony Edwards training routine
“Julius is a consummate worker, he’s always in the gym. Both of them love to come back and get extra shots up at night. Actually one thing I have seen now is Ant goes to the gym super early. On game… pic.twitter.com/gdcFvlcd6V
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 3, 2025
The next day, I got to ask Randle about his effect on Edwards.
“Like I don’t have to push Ant,” he said, laughing. “I try to do my best to lead by example but Ant has no problem working his butt off.
“For me, being 11 years into this league, I played with some special players. … I played with my idol Kobe, I just try to lead by example like he did, and pass some of the stuff down.”
Julius Randle on Anthony Edwards mimicking his pregame training routine
“Like I don’t have to push Ant(laughing)… I try to do my best to lead by example but Ant has no problem working his butt off… for me being 11 years into this league, I played with some special players… I… pic.twitter.com/8P21XeeQkd
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 4, 2025
Eight months after that October 7 practice, Randle sat at his exit interview after the Oklahoma City Thunder beat them in a five-game series. He spoke on his overall assessment of his first season living in Minnesota.
“It was surprising, I will say, this being my 11th year and coming to Minnesota, I was like alright it’s going to be cold as hell,” he said, laughing. “It’s really my speed… I definitely felt a comfort level and got used to the cold and blizzards in March. … I’ll probably spend my summer here.”
Julius Randle on his impressions of Minnesota
“It was surprising, I will say, this being my eleventh year and coming to Minnesota I was like alright it’s going to be cold as hell(laughs)… it’s really my speed… i definitely felt a comfort level and got used to the cold and… pic.twitter.com/5DqgCQ1JOm
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 29, 2025
Saying Randle stayed for the food might be underselling all of the other positives – the $100 million contract, Finch, and the Wolves’ culture. However, the commonalities in the two answers eight months apart are that Randle really likes the food in Minnesota, and that may have been the thing that pushed him over the edge to return.