As he weighed his future following a year full of personal growth and playoff success, Julius Randle didn’t just consider his finances, lifestyle, and teammates.

Yes, Randle signed a three-year, $100 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer, partly for those three reasons. Randle remains bullish on the Wolves’ championship window after advancing to the Western Conference Finals last season. The three-time All-Star wanted family stability a year after the New York Knicks unexpectedly dealt him as part of a trade for Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle established strong chemistry with Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and other notable role players.

But he also stayed devoted to Minnesota for another significant reason: his affection for Wolves coach Chris Finch.

“That’s my guy, man,” Julius Randle told EssentiallySports. “I’ll ride with Finch all day, for sure.”

That bond first started during Randle’s lone season with the New Orleans Pelicans (2018-19), where Finch served as an assistant coach. Then, Finch became intrigued with Randle’s diverse skillset as a scorer and playmaker while relying on both his brute strength and competitiveness.

“It starts with embracing what players do well,” Finch said. “I have an appreciation for Julius’ all-around game.”

So when the Wolves considered trading Towns amid financial pressures to fall eventually below the second apron, Finch became supportive both publicly and privately of the franchise acquiring Randle. Concerns arose about how Randle would coexist with Gobert, how he would share scoring duties with Edwards, and manage playmaking responsibilities with Mike Conley. Finch stayed mindful, however, on how Randle became a three-time All-Star, won the league’s Most Improved Player award and helped the Knicks to two playoff appearances partly because of his adaptability.

“You just had to embrace him for who he was and what he had been through,” Finch said. “He almost single-handedly put the Knicks back into relevancy. That’s forgotten. Things change for everybody in this league. But he came to us. I obviously thought he’d be a great fit. It was rough at the beginning. But it turns out that he was really the player that we thought he could be.”

In related news, the Wolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. Randle played a large role in the Wolves’ five-game first-round series win against the Los Angeles Lakers (22.6 points on 48.1% shooting, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists) and five-game second-round series win against the Golden State Warriors (25.2 points on 53.3% shooting, 7.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds). He struggled against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 (six points on 2-for-11 shooting, five assists, four turnovers) and Game 4 (five points on 1-for-7 shooting, five turnovers) of the Western Conference Finals. But Randle fared well in Game 1 (28 points), Game 3 (24) and Game 5 (24).

Through it all, Randle accepted Finch’s constructive feedback without complaining about his fluid minutes. For his 12 NBA season and second overall with Minnesota, the 30-year-old Randle also devoted an offseason focused on making his game more efficient and flexible to Finch’s needs.

“We trust his basketball IQ and his basketball instincts,” Finch said. “We definitely need him to playmake. We definitely need him to score. We’re probably more ‘60-40’ on the playmaking, if we had to break it up that way.”

Randle spoke extensively to EssentiallySports in detail about his partnership with Finch, how he’ll manage those scoring and playmaking duties, challenging Edwards in workouts, and his improved chemistry with Rudy Gobert. He also spoke candidly about his outlook on becoming an All-Star again and winning his first NBA title.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

After the season you had with Minnesota, what influenced your decision to sign an extension?

Randle: “I just think everything as a whole from the working environment, Finchy as a coach, Tim [Connelly], Dell [Demps], Matt Lloyd, all of those guys have been really good to me. My family is really happy to be in Minnesota. It’s been a great place for our family and to raise our kids. So I think it was a business and basketball decision, but it was a life decision, too.”

You’ve said this has been your happiest offseason. What did you get to enjoy this past summer?

Randle: “Just balance, man. I think I was able to refresh. I took about a month just to spend time with the family and travel and vacation and all of that different type of stuff. I was feeling refreshed and motivated, basketball-wise. You’re coming into a season knowing that you’re competing for a championship. So I think that makes the training fun because you got a lot of motivation behind it. I just woke up every day excited to be able to do what I love to do. Knowing that I’m coming to a spot where I’m appreciated and somewhere I’m able to enjoy coming to work every single day, that was important for me.”

And because of that, you’ve said this was your best training offseason, too. What did your day-to-day look like with that?

Randle: “I wish I could tell you (laughs). But I kind of got lost in the process and the grind. It’s pretty simple. I get in the weight room every day. I trust my trainer to get me in the best possible shape and that my body is feeling great. It starts with that. From a basketball standpoint, I felt like I had a pretty good beat on what the team needed from me and how I can help. So it’s really just sharpening up those areas as far as what I do for the team and what I feel like I can get better at. So whether it was catch-and-shoot 3s or sharpening up my ballhandling and my postups, it was about efficiency stuff and trying to make the game as simple as possible. That’s pretty much it. It wasn’t anything too complicated. The game of basketball is simple. So I sometimes feel like people overcomplicate it a little bit. But really everything comes back down to the fundamentals and trying to simplify things.”

Not to overcomplicate it. But even from day one before you entered the NBA, you had a multi-dimensional skillset and played aggressively. What’s the key in finding the sweet spot with staying true to that, while also being efficient?

Randle: “I think my versatility allows me to do a lot of different things on the court. I can affect the game in many different ways. So once I found the rhythm of our offense and personnel-wise, it was really about taking what the defense gives me. I don’t have to worry about whether I’m going to get enough shots, or where my shots are going to come from and stuff like that. I know I have a multitude of opportunities in the game to score the ball. Some nights I might score more than others. But I can affect the game in so many ways, whether it’s rebounding, pushing the ball and getting us into our early offense, passing. All of those different things, I pride myself on being able to do a little bit of everything.”

What has Finch’s message been with if he wants to use you more as a playmaker, scorer, or depending on the possession?

Randle: “Yeah, it’s a little bit of everything. I think early on last year, he was big on the team needing my scoring. As the season went on, we found out that they really needed my playmaking just as much, if not more. I think it is honestly easier to score. To be honest, I wasn’t centrally focused coming into the game that I have to score the basketball. I knew I would get many opportunities to do that if I needed to do that for the team. There were times in the playoffs last season where they were like, ‘We want to take away his playmaking.’ So then they played me one-on-one. I feel like if you play me one-on-one (shakes head), it’s going to be trouble. So I have to kind of pick and choose. I just have to make sure that I’m making the right play every time. If they’re double-teaming me or crowding me, then I’m making sure that I’m getting my teammates easy looks. If they’re not, then I’ll go score the ball. I know I can do that, too.”

What lessons do you take from your success in the first two rounds of the playoffs, as well as the fluidity in the Conference Finals with your play and rotation minutes against OKC?

Randle: “There are always things to get better at. I feel like I come into every summer seeing what I can get better at and see what works and what didn’t. I think this year, we’ll be a lot more prepared. It was basically our first year, at least my first year with the guys. So it’s about understanding the different situations and what the game calls for and being able to adjust a little bit faster from series to series. You take the positives and figure out a couple of things that you can do to get better. Then I think we’ll be a lot more, including myself, prepared than last year.”

You’ve known Finch for a while. But what enabled you to have a strong bond with him through both the good and the adversity?

Randle: “I just think Finch ultimately trusts in me as a player. I think he knows how I approach the game and how I work. I think that builds trust. It’s the same thing with him. I know that every night, Finch’s ultimate job and motivation is that for every game, he’s going out there to win. Finch is a hell of a competitor. He wants to win at every single thing. He wants to win every single game. I know coming into the game that is his mindset. And myself, I want to win just as badly. So the trust is always going to be there. It’s also understanding too that, through adversity, how he showed up for me as well. That was important for me, knowing that he had my back. He was a big reason for me coming to Minnesota. He wanted me here. So that’s my guy, man. I’ll ride with Finch all day, for sure.”

What’s your outlook on making the All-Star Game again this season?

Randle: “I definitely think it’s possible. I think, for me, it’s about helping our team win at a high level. I think just being present every single day, whether it’s practice or a game. I think if I’m present, then I’m the best version of myself. Then those things will happen. Those things will show. But ultimately, man, I’m trying to win a championship.”

ANT’s already a special player. But what does growth look like for him this season?

Randle: “Sh—, you saw it last game [Edwards had 41 points vs Portland]. You saw it last game. He was 100% in the clutch, and was taking over a game. I think it’s just about understanding reads from game-to-game on what the defenses are trying to do. He never looked out of control, hurried, or sped up. He was composed all game. Then he took that even to the clutch. So I think that’s growth. He scored in all parts of the floor – at the basket, at midrange, 3s, free-throw line, transition. What people don’t notice is that when it was fourth-quarter money time and we’re trying to win, he’s switching out, standing out on drives, guarding and keeping dudes out of the paint. That takes a lot of energy. I think for him, that’s growth. He’s showing us he is who he is. Obviously, we know. But it’s about him doing it on a consistent level. That’s my challenge with him. As a teammate, just try to push him to do it every single night because that’s what he’s capable of doing.”

You also said you both challenged each other during offseason workouts. What were those workouts like?

Randle: “That’s my brother, man. I just tried not to miss shots (laughed). I tried to push each other in drills. I tried to build our chemistry with our two-man game and connection with that. But we both are super competitive dudes. So we try to bring the best out of each other and be great with every single thing that we do.”

Given how jovial he is, what’s your favorite ANT story that made you laugh?

Randle: “ANT does something every single day. I don’t even know if I’ve got one. He does something every single day. There’s always something different with him.”

I don’t mean to break the confines of team stuff. I just mean things observable to the general public.

Randle: “Yeah, man. I mean, I don’t know (laughs). I couldn’t think of anything because there is something every single day where you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t believe he said that,’ and stuff like that. He’s 100% authentic Anthony Edwards. He doesn’t try to be different to anybody. That’s what I love about him. He doesn’t change. He is the same person every single day.”

With the growth you had with Rudy, how do you build off of that this season?

Randle: “I think there was a lot of growth with us understanding each other and us learning how to communicate with each other and spending time talking outside of basketball. There are different personalities and new teammates, all of that different type of stuff. So you got to do it. We know that we need each other, too. We understand that. There was always that growth. So with us coming into this year, we’re going to work together every single day for 10 minutes to try to build some type of chemistry. So, I’ll know where you’re at on the floor, and you know what I’m going to do. So it’s just those types of things that makes it easier for the connection. Entering this year from training camp, we’ve hit the ground running. Our chemistry and understanding of each other is miles ahead of what it was at the start of last season.”

I’m aware of the experience and talent you and this group have. But why do you think this is enough to make the next step in a crowded Western Conference?

Randle: “It’s our confidence in each other. We don’t try to worry about anything on the outside. It’s our confidence in each other every time that we step out onto the court. We believe that we have enough to win. That’s all that we really need. We come in and approach every single day as if we got to get better. We know that. So if we do that, we will give ourselves a great chance to win every night.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Essentially Sports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.