Julius Randle started his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014. His five seasons with the Knicks, from 2019 to 2024, were a fruitful period for the 31-year-old native of Dallas, Texas. Randle was key in elevating the Knicks to three playoff appearances and was a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection before the Knicks traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in October 2024 in a deal that acquired center Karl-Anthony Towns.
The 6’9” Randle is back in New York, this time as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, after being dealt to the franchise by the Timberwolves this past July as part of a four-team trade. Now in his 13th season and on his fifth NBA team, Randle reflected on his journey, including wisdom imparted to him by the late NBA great Kobe Bryant, at Nets Media Day held on Sept. 28 at the HSS Training Center in Brooklyn.
“When I was that age early in my career, I had the best example you could have in Kobe,” Randle said. “I feel like those lessons, and just that example that he set for me, have carried me throughout my career to where I can be here in year 13 and I’m still trying to improve every single day.”
“It was the biggest blessing for me being around him, being able to carry those lessons into my daily life,” Randle added. “It has become a part of who I am, become part of my fabric, and I try to carry it that way … when you are around somebody that great, and they teach you all that he has taught me, the biggest thing I can do is just pass it along. So, I try my best to do that.”
Randle will apply his knowledge and experience in being a central player in the Nets rebuild. He came into a similar situation with the Knicks, who were 17-65 the season before he arrived and went 21-45 in his first season with the team under former head coach David Fizdale and interim head coach Mike Miller, who took over the team when Fizdale was fired 22 games into the 2019-20 campaign. Brooklyn was 20-62 last season guided by second-year head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Randle has already been impressed by Nets 6’5” point guard Mikel Brown Jr., selected sixth overall in June’s draft.
“For a young player that is a 19-year-old rookie (Brown turned 20 in April) to be able to come off a pick and roll and understand how to make every single read at a young age. Usually when you’re a young player, you want to try to get a basket every single time, but he’s coming off a pick and roll and really understanding how to read, play the game; and [last year’s No. 8 overall pick Egor Dёmin] does the same: shoot the ball. He’s six-foot nine-inches, athletic, moves really well with and without the ball.
“He has a great background obviously playing in Spain early in his career, so he really understands how to play the game. So, these guys are gonna be great for a long time.”
Randle also gave a preview of how he envisions he and Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. will develop chemistry and form a potentially potent frontcourt duo. The 28-year-old, 6’10” Porter, a 2023 champion with the Denver Nuggets before being traded to Brooklyn in July 2025, was the Nets’ top scorer last season at 24.2 points per game.
“I think it will be great just because of our playstyles. I feel like [we] mesh with each other very well,” said Randle. “Obviously, we both can score the ball, but I can create in multiple ways with how I attack the basket.”
With Randle in the fold and promising young talent, the Nets should be a much improved team this season.
