Julius Randle is one of several former Los Angeles Lakers who has now carved out a nice role on his new team. Randle is arguably the most successful of the former Lakers as he was named an all-star for the first time last season and had an incredible year that led the New York Knicks back to the playoffs.
It took Randle a bit longer to realize his full potential as the former eighth overall pick became an all-star in his seventh season, which was his third season after leaving the Lakers.
While Randle took some time to realize his all-star potential, he has always been killing it against the Los Angeles Lakers. Randle really seems to take the matchup personally against the Lakers as his numbers against the purple and gold truly are mind-boggling.
Julius Randle’s career numbers vs the Los Angeles Lakers:
Julius Randle has played eight games in his career against the Los Angeles Lakers and has been fantastic. The former Laker is averaging 24.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Randle plays better against the Lakers than he does any other team, as he averages more points against LA than any other team in the league.
The next-best team that Randle plays against is the Atlanta Hawks, who he averages 23.9 points per game against. While Randle’s rebounding numbers are better against other teams, it is undeniable that he scores fairly easily against the Lakers.
Randle has dropped 30 or more points against the Lakers three times in his career. In LeBron’s first season with the Lakers Randle scored 35 against the Lakers in a February game that the Lakers won. He scored 34 in a Knicks win in April and dropped 31 in a Knicks loss back in May.
For what it’s worth, no other former Lakers has scored more against the Lakers than Randle has since LeBron James joined the team. Brandon Ingram is the only other former Laker to score 30 or more against the Lakers, dropping 34 against the team in February 2020.
This is a potentially important x-factor in the Lakers game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. The Lakers are seven-point underdogs in the game with LeBron not playing and if Randle has another game like his last two against the Lakers then the Lakers might not cover, let alone win.
We always love to see former Lakers succeed but not against the Los Angeles Lakers. Hopefully, Randle breaks this streak of 30-point games and the Lakers can shock the Knicks in Madison Square Garden.