Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle. Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle make Timberwolves franchise history

By Sai Mohan | Last updated May 15, 2025 8:14 AM ET

Remember when some called the Julius Randle-Karl-Anthony Towns transaction the "worst trade" in NBA history?

Those people ought to feel silly after watching the Timberwolves smoke the Warriors, 4-1, to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

In the five-game series, Randle averaged 25.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from the field. The southpaw was second on the team in plus-minus, helping Minnesota outscore Golden State by 42 points when he was on the floor.

Randle proved to be the perfect co-star to Anthony Edwards, who averaged 26.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists against the Warriors. The duo made Timberwolves franchise history in the process.

Anthony Edwards & Julius Randle become the first Timberwolves duo to each average 25+ PPG in a playoff series. pic.twitter.com/S8NyDmhA1Z
— Polymarket Hoops (@StatMamba) May 15, 2025

Randle and Edwards achieved a feat that eluded past Timberwolves All-Star duos such as Edwards-Towns, Andrew Wiggins-Towns and Kevin Garnett-Wally Szczerbiak, among others.

Many analysts felt Minnesota erred by swapping Towns for Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. However, the 2025 playoffs have proven otherwise, and Edwards couldn't be happier.

"Just how he creates for others," Edwards said of Randle's greatest strength. "And his impact on the game — the way he controls the tempo, pushes the pace and brings us along when he pushes the pace. Even his defense has gone to another level. The way he communicates, his attention to detail — everything. It's incredible to be his teammate. He brings it every night."

Further to Edwards' point, Randle's playmaking made a telling impact in the Warriors-Timberwolves series. The Kentucky alum led all players in the series with 37 assists in five games.

Randle, 30, is enjoying his best playoff run since entering the NBA in 2015, averaging career-highs in points (23.9), assists (5.9), minutes (37.6) FG% (50.9) and 3P% (34.5). Randle and Edwards now await the winner of the Thunder-Nuggets series in the Western Conference Finals.

Julius Randle is averaging playoff career-highs in:

PPG
APG
SPG
FG%
3PT%
FT% pic.twitter.com/csSEOnYXAe
— Polymarket Hoops (@StatMamba) May 15, 2025

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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