Julius Randle’s wife, Kendra, shared her mixed feelings about who to root for in the WNBA Finals between the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty. During Game 1 on Thursday, Kendra posted on X (formerly Twitter) about her dilemma.
The Randle family recently moved from New York after Julius, the former Knicks star, was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with Donte DiVincenzo in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Due to the trade, Kendra found herself conflicted over which team to support in the WNBA Finals. As she reacted to the excitement of Game 1, a fan welcomed her to Minnesota, to which Kendra replied:
The Lynx came from 18 points down to overcome the Liberty in Game 1.
Julius Randle’s trade to Minnesota, which allowed the Knicks to acquire Towns, took the NBA world by surprise. The power forward now joins Anthony Edwards on a Timberwolves team that made it to the Western Conference finals last season.
Randle is signed through the 2024-25 season, with a nearly $31 million player option for 2025-26.
Last season, Julius Randle averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 46 games, earning his third All-Star selection. However, a shoulder injury sidelined him for much of the second half of the season.
Julius Randle opens up about trade to Minnesota
Julius Randle spoke about the emotional rollercoaster he experienced after learning he was traded by the Knicks following five seasons with the team.
“It was a lot of emotion. You spend a certain amount of time in a place, New York, going there five years ago, and having a goal in mind to accomplish a lot of great things and, a lot of blood, sweat and tears put into that organization uniform,” he said.
Despite the initial emotions, Randle soon became excited about his new chapter with the Timberwolves, where he’ll team up with the rising star Edwards, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid.
“Initially, it’s always going to be a shock but for me afterwards, I woke up the next morning, and I was just really, really excited. It was a breath of fresh air. I’m excited to bring everything that I learned here over the past five years and, help these guys out. … I want to help win a championship. So that’s the only thing that matters.”
Randle also reunites with Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who was an assistant coach during Randle’s time with the New Orleans Pelicans.
