Julius Randle says he didn’t get Kobe Bryant advice when he was 19, but cherishes it

Julius Randle was instrumental in helping the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat the team that drafted him, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Randle spent his first four NBA years in LA, where he had the privilege of playing alongside the late and legendary Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers weren't very good during those finals seasons of Kobe's career. However, they did draft several young stars like Randle that had the opportunity to learn from the Mamba. Speaking to press recently, Big Julius recalled Bryant's advice and how it's significance has changed for him over the years.

Julius Randle speaks on his appreciation of Kobe Bryant growing with age

“The things that he passed down to me, the things that I learned from him. It may have not made sense when I was 19 or 20 years old but now that I’m 30 it makes a lot more sense(smiling). I used to be like… pic.twitter.com/LJzPCRkT6W
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 4, 2025

“The things that he passed down to me, the things that I learned from him. It may have not made sense when I was 19 or 20 years old but now that I’m 30 it makes a lot more sense," Randle said.

"I used to be like, 'What is this dude talking about?', and now I get it a lot more. So I try to cherish those things, hold on to those things, and I think the true blessing is being able to pass those things on to others.”

Randle and Kobe played together for two years. During that time, Bryant was quite straightforward about his younger teammates, and it makes sense that they might not have been too receptive.

Randle averaged 22.6 points and 5.2 rebounds against the Lakers in their recent playoff series. After some questioned Minnesota's decision to acquire him, he has quietly been succeeding. Whatever he learned from Kobe, it seems to be helping him at this point in his career.

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Julius Randle says he didn’t get Kobe Bryant’s advice when he was 19, but cherishes it now

By Divij Kulkarni | 11:09 AM EDT