Julius Randle had a rather different and surprising reaction to playing against his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate, D’Angelo Russell.
Speaking to ESPN’s Malika Andrews in the aftermath of the New York Knicks 112-108 win against LA, the forward shared his candid thought on facing Russell. “It’s fun,” he said.
“We used to compete a lot in practice, one-on-one. We used to compete in everything, video games. We were growing up as kids here, so, nine years later, eight years later, whatever it is, to be on this court, battling it out again, was fun.”
It should be noted that Randle and Russell played for the same side for a couple of years. While Randle was drafted by LA in 2014, Russell joined a season later. He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets after two seasons.
On the game front, the Knicks snapped their two-game losing skid, with Randle contributing 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. For the Lakers, Russell had 33 points, 5 boards, and 8 assists, but it wasn’t enough to get the Lakers across.
D’Angelo Russell Had A Blunt Take On Playing Against Julius Randle
While Randle did keep it light, saying it was fun playing Russell, the latter didn’t appear to share the same feelings. Speaking to the media after, he had a rather blunt response.
“We played together,” Russell said. “Went our separate ways after that, and it’s just been competitive energy ever since then. So, I mean, that’s how I am with everybody. I’m not really friends with anybody, to be honest. So, on the court, it’s no love. You know, you just want to battle, try to get the win, and maybe shake hands after.”
As far as the friendship goes, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of love lost. It’s fair to suggest that both these players have been focused on getting their sides to the playoffs, and the Knicks are better-placed in the East than the Lakers, who face stiff competition in the West. Only time will tell if these two will manage to square off in the postseason again.
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