The Minnesota Timberwolves got a whole lot of nothing from Julius Randle in a critical contest Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs.
The T-Wolves desperately needed Randle to play like a second star to Anthony Edwards in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinals series at Frost Bank Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The visitors did not get that in a 126-97 road loss.
Randle’s box score numbers looked fine: 17 points and 10 rebounds on 6/17 shooting. But most of those numbers came in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs already having taken a commanding lead.
Entering the final period, Randle had just 8 points on 2/12 shooting from the floor. His absence was felt by the rest of the Timberwolves, who tried desperately to scratch and claw to stay in the game.
Many fans slammed Randle during and after Game 5 for being an inadequate No. 2 behind Edwards.
Julius Randle keeps going at Wemby in the paint everytime since game 1 like a gambling addict
— Russ' TD ⚡ (@RussFcb) May 13, 2026
I feel so bad for Anthony Edwards man. His second option is really Julius Randle
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) May 13, 2026
Julius Randle is the worst #2 on any playoff team by far. He's truly useless.
— TTW (@TailToWin) May 13, 2026
Some called for Randle to be outright replaced in the offseason, barring a miraculous comeback and title run by Minnesota.
Pretty safe to say that the Wolves need to upgrade their star power next to Anthony Edwards moving forward. Julius Randle was excellent in last season’s playoffs, he’s struggled in these. He’s a solid pro, fringe All-Star, but he can’t cut it as a second option next to Ant if…
— Damien Peters (@DamienPetersNBA) May 13, 2026
If Julius Randle is still on the team next season, the offseason is a failure
— Timberwolves Muse (@Wolvesmuse) May 13, 2026
Randle was facing similar criticism as a member of the New York Knicks. Despite a couple of banner regular-season campaigns in New York, Randle consistently faltered in the postseason.
Randle’s playoff struggles were partly what pushed the Knicks to trade Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns, who has ironically been thriving in a revitalized playmaker role with the Knicks this postseason.
