Julius Randle is considering facing 40-year-old LeBron James ahead of the playoff clash.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are separated by only one victory in the Finals West standings.
But it was enough to give the Lakers a playoff seed advantage. Currently, both sides are all set to lock the horn in the opening round of the 2025 playoffs.
Timberwolves’ Julius Randle shared his honest thoughts on fighting LeBron James’ current version ahead of the much-anticipated matchup.
The James vs. Randle matchup could be key for teams to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals.
T-Wolves fans want Randle to overtake James, but the 30-year-old knows it’s easier than it says. In fact, Randle considers King to be aged like fine wine and is now a better player than he has in his career.
“To be honest, I think he’s a better player now. He’s always been great. His skill level has increased more and he’s clearly one of the smartest players in the game.
“The skill level, the ability to shoot the ball, and the more efficient he’s older, that says a lot about him.
“It’s a challenge, but I look forward to being consistently playing against great people.”
Overcoming the challenges is an important part of doing deep playoff runs, and it’s good to see Randle understand who will lock the horn within a week.
This is the first time Randle has faced James in the postseason, but the two stars have locked the horns multiple times in the regular season.
In fact, they play 16 games with each other. Currently, LBJ has a 12-4 victory record against the Timberwolves star, averaging 25.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Randle has 20.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game against the NBA’s all-time high scorer.
With that in mind, it would be a huge task for Randle to not only stop James on the defensive side of the floor, but also put up a big number on the other side.