Lakers: Highlighting the Differences Between Larry Nance Jr And Julius Randle

Despite playing the same position, the two Lakers “rookies” couldn’t be more different 

Both Lakers “rookies” are athletic outliers. In Julius Randle‘s case, a man that big and strong shouldn’t be that fast. In regards to Larry Nance Jr no one, regardless of size, should be able to sky that high.

That said, considering the two are competing for the same spot in the Lakers starting lineup there has to be some reasoning behind Byron Scott‘s ultimate decision to bench one and start the other.

Further, there has to be something which explains why he continuously praises Nance Jr but criticizes Randle. Of course, performance on court is one thing, but even when their stats are similar the aforementioned situation always seems to occur.

Recently, in regards to Nance Jr, Scott even went so far as to say, “If you were probably to re-do the draft, he’d be a lottery pick… So, obviously, we got a steal.”

Moreover, he revealed that, “Larry is one of those guys where he’s like the Energizer Bunny — he just keeps playing, and he plays harder and harder and harder… So if you don’t match his intensity then he can embarrass you.”

Sadly, said expectations translate over to the coaching staff’s perception of each player, establishing an awful double-standard.

But that still doesn’t explain the vastly different treatment of the two players’ performances. This is to say, Julius Randle is energetic too, almost to a fault. That said, it is only by diving into their pasts that you can begin to find the answer to this question.

Broken down to its basest form Julius Randle is proud, stubborn and had high exceedingly high expectations for himself coming into the league, while Larry Nance Jr is easy going, malleable, and had virtually no expectations for his career.

Sadly, said expectations translate over to the coaching staff’s perception of each player, establishing an awful double-standard.

From a young age, Julius Randle knew he was going to be an NBA prospect, just watch his high school Hoop Mixtape for prepackaged proof. Though Prestonwood Christian High School in Plano, Texas isn’t considered one of the elite high school basketball programs, the likes of Oak Hill or Monteverde Academy, it was widely accepted that Julius Randle was a top five college prospect.

Larry Nance Jr. on the other hand, almost quit basketball his sophomore year of high school, a game which he didn’t even start playing until he was 13. Further, Nance Jr only began playing AAU in his senior year, which could account for his raw as ever basketball skill level.

Julius Randle was a star in high school and college, so it’s only right that he expected himself to have the same level of success in the NBA. Directly opposite, in Nance Jr’s case he never had any of these illusions of grandeur as explained in his recent Baxter Holmes interview.

"At that point, I obviously never thought I’d be here… I never thought in a million years that I’d be here. . .One thing I’ll never do is take it for granted."

Holmes further highlighted what makes Nance Jr so vastly different than Randle. In regards to the teams that passed on him, Nance Jr revealed:

"“I looked at it this way — they didn’t see what I was doing,” Nance says of those who didn’t rank him high as a prospect, or teams that passed on him. “They couldn’t see my workouts every day.”But he says there is no chip on his shoulder.“At the end of the day, you can say I was supposed to go second [round],” Nance said. “You can say I was supposed to not get picked. I did. And I did get picked first round. I’m not worried about them anymore. My goal is to make the coaches and this organization as happy as they can possibly be.”"

Two things in this excerpt should immediately stand out, the first being the “chip on his shoulder” statement, the second and most direct explanation, “My goal is to make the coaches and this organization as happy as they can possibly be.” Ironically, these two things seem to be directly correlated.

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When it comes to Randle, it seems to be this “chip on his shoulder” that is causing the majority of turmoil between Byron Scott and himself, and this is where he and Nance’s differences begin to expand.

Said “chip” causes the mentality of “everyone against me,” which seems to be Randle’s mantra. Where Randle is quick to frustrate and get out of his game, Nance Jr is patient and willing to learn from his mistakes. Again, this could be on account of their preconceived mindsets and expectations.

Simply put, while Randle wants to do it his way, how he’d imagined it happening ever since he was a boy, Nance Jr is willing to compromise, or even fully give in, to the instruction of his coaches and veteran players.

Neither are wrong ways of thinking, Kobe Bryant is headstrong and look at the amount of success he had, ironically, after struggling heavily his first few years in the league. Contrarily, Tim Duncan seems more passive, willing to adapt, and he has the same amount of rings as The Black Mamba.

Considering their character foils, similar to D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson, it would be interesting to see how the two play off each other in the same lineup, rather than against each other, competing for the same spot in the starting line up.

Next: Three Things We Learned About the Lakers After the Kings Game

While Randle has seemingly hit a “rookie” wall, he must adjust not only his style of play, but his mindset before actualizing any of the goals he set out for himself. Additionally, the coaching staff must temper their expectations or risk completely destroying any of the remaining confidence Randle has left.