Lakers’ rookie Julius Randle spoke on his injury, the recovery, and getting out of his “pity party” in his first public appearance since suffering a broken leg.
Here’s a video of the interview shown on Time Warner Cable, with snippets of the press conference down below.
Randle talked about the moment he hurt himself, saying that he knew right away what the injury was.
Julius Randle: "When I went up, it felt like somebody kicked me. Heard a pop sound. I didn't think it was my leg." No pain until later.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) November 5, 2014
Julius Randle: "As soon as I did it, I knew what it was."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2014
However, despite the severity of the injury and the devastating nature of it, Randle was ready to start the recovery immediately.
Told that surgery would be the next morning, Randle said he responded, "Why can't we do it tonight?"
— Bill Oram (@billoram) November 5, 2014
Naturally, as a 19-year old, the injury was tough to recover from, and Randle had to be pulled out of his “pity party” by the Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant. In fact, Tuesday’s press conference was his first venture out of his house since suffering the injury a week ago.
Julius Randle said Kobe was one of the main people to help him get out of his "pity party."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2014
Julius Randle says tonight was the first time he got out of the house. Says the most difficult thing for him is sleep, getting comfortable
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2014
Now, the Kentucky product is focused on his recovery, which will be a slow one considering the nature of the injury. However, it appears Randle is in the right spirits so far.
Julius Randle: "Hopefully in about 6 weeks I'll be able to walk with just one crutch."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2014
Julius Randle: "If I'm mentally right when I come back, physically I'll be able to do some things."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2014
Luckily for Randle, he has a great support system around him, namely Bryant, who is coming off his own broken leg and season-ending injury. For now, it seems like Randle is ready for the road to recovery, but maintaining that mindset over the long haul is the challenge.