Lakers 2015-16 Season Roster Grades: Julius Randle

Grading the 2015-16 NBA season for Lakers forward Julius Randle

Julius Randle had everything to prove coming into the 2015-16 season and, despite the occasional rough patch, he largely answered the call. After a broken leg ended his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers just 14 minutes into his first game, the No. 7 overall pick spent the offseason preparing his body to play his first meaningful NBA minutes.

During the season, Randle was a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Lakers, averaging 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in just over 28 minutes per game. He joined Karl-Anthony Towns as the only rookie or sophomore to average a double-double in the 2015-16 campaign .

But it wasn’t all positive for Julius, who struggled mightily with his shot throughout the season, making just 42.9 percent of his field goal attempts. Although his role will never be that of a sharpshooter, Randle still underperformed relative to what was expected, finishing the season with the 15th-worst true shooting percentage among all qualified forwards (NBA.com).

To be fair, the Kentucky product’s struggles likely stemmed from the near impossible on-court situation, including a stagnant offensive system, league-worst defense, and precarious personnel roles. All things considered, Randle’s season actually got off to a decent start as he averaged a respectable 11.7 points and 9.2 rebounds over the first 20 games.

Once head coach Byron Scott chose to relegate Randle and rookie D’Angelo Russell to the bench in early December, however, the forward’s production almost instantly took a hit. Some of it could be attributed to his modest decline in minutes as a reserve, but he also saw a reduced role as a starter while still improving in areas such as shooting percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Encouragingly, Randle elevated his numbers once again as he returned to the starting lineup for the final 40 games of the season. He averaged 12.2 points and 11.1 rebounds over the season’s second half, good for ninth-best in the league during that stretch.

Overall, it was an impressive campaign for the pseudo-rookie, who had been longing for his moment in the sun ever since his his right leg mysteriously gave way just minutes into his professional career. While the 21-year-old bruiser was hardly perfect, he certainly warranted praise from the Laker faithful.

Let’s take a look at how his final season grade shaped up.

Next: The Final Grade