On Wednesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves punched their ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. To do so, they had to get past the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, two veteran teams filled with long-time superstars. But the duo of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle have been something special, and they have more than earned their place.
In 10 playoff games so far, Edwards is averaging 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists while serving as the emotional leader of a Timberwolves team that is now one of the final four teams remaining for a second straight season. Edwards’ play style, leadership and passion have, on several occasions, been compared to some of the game’s all-time greats.
Randle, who has specific experience playing alongside one of those all-time greats in Kobe Bryant, made the same comparison when talking about his co-star, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I have been around a lot of great players. He is as confident in his belief in himself as … it’s Kobe-like. And I was around Kobe,” Randle told ESPN.
“He’s not scared of any moment and he wants those moments. His belief and confidence in who he is as a player is the highest I’ve ever seen or been around, for anybody.”
Edwards has been compared to Michael Jordan and Kobe many times over the years. It’s in part due to the way he rises in the biggest moments, specifically in the playoffs, and his on-court mentality. But Randle is one of the first to make that comparison with direct knowledge.
Randle saw Bryant up close after being drafted by the Lakers during their rebuilding phase. He formed a bond with Kobe and was mentored by him during his first two seasons in the league. He credits Bryant with much of his mentality and success today.
So for him to make that comparison shows just how much of an impact Edwards has on the roster. And perhaps this is the season they take that next step and reach the NBA Finals as they are just four wins away.
Julius Randle credits Kobe Bryant for helping him deal with adversity
One of the main reasons the Timberwolves defeated the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs was the play of Julius Randle. The forward averaged 22.6 points in the series while knocking down 39.3% from deep as he regularly made the Lakers defense pay for focusing so much attention on Anthony Edwards.
Randle recently spoke on his Lakers tenure and the adversity that came from it following the Timberwolves’ latest playoff win over the Warriors. The forward would credit being mentored by Kobe while with the Lakers in really teaching him how to deal with adversity in his basketball career.
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