Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Julius Randle had a great season and one of the reasons why was his ability to stay on the court.
The Los Angeles Lakers took a nice step forward in the 2017-18 season, as they certainly improved from last season. One of the reasons why the Lakers improved was because of their young core.
Despite improving in the win column, the Lakers dealt with a lot of injuries to some of their young stars this season. Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram both missed time with various injuries, and if they were able to stay healthy, the Lakers might have been closer to a .500 team.
In the 82-game season, playing in every game is not an easy accomplishment. However, Julius Randle was able to accomplish that this season. Recently, Randle talked about being able to play in every game this season to Corey Hansford of LakersNation.com. Here’s what he had to say.
"“Honestly, for me only playing 14 minutes or whatever it was my rookie year, breaking my leg and missing 81 games. For me, three years later to be able to play all 82 was really cool. You don’t really go into the season knowing if you’re going to be able to play all 82 or not.”"
Seeing Randle being able to play in every game this season was a great indication of the hard work that he put in this offseason. Randle was able to get into the best shape of his life, and the certainly helped him stay on the court all season.
Considering Randle played in just one game in his rookie season, being able to play in all 82 three years later is a great accomplishment. Since suffering the gruesome injury in his first game, Randle has been able to avoid injuries. In his second season, he played in 81 games, and then followed it up by playing 74 games in his third season.
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As a restricted free agent, Randle’s improvement on the court and his ability to play in every game last season will only help him earn a nice contract. If the Lakers end up missing on players like LeBron James and Paul George, bringing back Randle should certainly be the next priority after his great season.