As the Minnesota Timberwolves prepare for their Western Conference Finals matchup against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, forward Julius Randle shared his perspective on the challenge ahead, emphasizing confidence, respect, and urgency.
“It’s fun,” Randle said when asked about facing a 68-win Thunder team. “We’ve had a great run of teams and players this postseason—from Luka, LeBron, to Draymond, Jimmy—and now we got a 68-win team who’s been playing great basketball all year.”
Minnesota’s road to the Conference Finals included upsets over the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, both series ending in five games. Despite Oklahoma City entering the series with the NBA’s best record, Randle made it clear Minnesota isn’t intimidated.
“I said it before: winning is beating everybody, so why not these guys too?” he added. “But we know it’ll be a challenge…we respect everything that they’ve done.”
A major focus for Minnesota heading into the series is limiting turnovers against OKC’s aggressive perimeter defense. “They put pressure on you the whole game,” Randle explained. “That’s what gets them going…we got to play a clean 48 minutes of basketball.”
Now in his first Conference Finals appearance, Randle acknowledged the grind of reaching this stage. “You see guys—they’re already on their second vacation or they’re starting to train…and I’m like, man, y’all have done this year after year after year,” he said, referencing a recent conversation with Draymond Green. “So, like, all the respect in the world to those guys.”
Randle, who joined Minnesota in the offseason as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists through 10 playoff games. He credited the Timberwolves’ turbulent season with strengthening team character.
“We’ve had to go through a lot of things together—ups and downs, injuries…just finding our identity,” he said. “More than anything, it’s just built character.”
While some on the roster experienced a deep postseason run last year, Randle emphasized that this is a different squad. “Last year’s team was last year’s team,” he noted. “It’s been new personnel, new team, new rotations…so we try to leave that in the past.”
Still, he acknowledged the importance of seizing the opportunity. “These things don’t turn around,” said Randle. “We got a special group…Some people never get here. I can’t worry about five years from now. All I know is I’m here right now.”
As for his All-Star teammate Anthony Edwards, Randle didn’t hesitate when asked how he handles the spotlight. “That’s where he shines the brightest,” he said. “He thrives in it.”
With tip-off approaching, Randle summed up the Timberwolves’ mindset: “Nobody’s satisfied. We know the goal that’s at hand and we just got to take it a game at a time.”
