Fast forward a few months, and Minnesota is headed back to the conference finals in no small part because of Randle, who continued the best stretch of basketball of his postseason -- and probably professional -- life with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting on Wednesday as the Wolves eliminated the Warriors in five games.

"I have been around a lot of great players. He is as confident in his belief in himself as ... it's Kobe-like. And I was around Kobe," the All-Star power forward relayed. "He's not scared of any moment, and he wants those moments. His belief and confidence in who he is as a player is the highest I've ever seen or been around, for anybody."

Julius Randle scored 29 points on 13-for-18 shooting, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 121-110 win over the Golden State Warriors to clinch their Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

In a playoff showdown that had fans on the edge of their seats, the Minnesota Timberwolves clinched their spot in the Western Conference Finals. But as the confetti settled, it wasn’t just Julius Randle’s performance that had people talking- it was his wife,

The Golden State Warriors had a long night Wednesday as they faced elimination without their superstar Steph Curry. Curry suffered a hamstring strain in Game 1 of the Warriors' second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves,

Aaron Gordon might be the gold standard of the "struggling leading man to role player" transformation right now. After never finding his place in Orlando, he has become Mr. Nugget in Denver by giving up the on-ball portion of his offensive game,

Julius Randle has only been a part of the Timberwolves for a year, but he has looked the part of being the team's veteran star alongside a young Ant Edwards.

Julius Randle knows a thing or two about having a supremely confident teammate, and he put Anthony Edwards on that level. Edwards's postseason play has raised eyebrows around the NBA this season as he has taken his game to another level.