Julius Randle recently admitted he used to smoke weed regularly during his time with the New York Knicks. Now with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Randle has quit the habit, which helped his mental state and disposition on and off the court.
“It’s definitely tough in today’s world, but I think it’s so important to have a clear mind and being able to be strong mentally and independent mentally without anything influencing you as far as substance or voice or whatever. Like, being able to store your own thoughts out,” Randle explained on the Change Your Brain Every Day podcast.
“I think one of the things with that, it made me distant and not present. Kind of just like would be in my own world. And I’m like, I’m fine. Like, this is what it is. My wife would be like, no, you’re just not present. Like, we’re having a conversation, you’re not really present. You’re with the kids, you’re not really present,” he added.
In his first full season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Randle averaged 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on 48.5 percent shooting from the field across 69 regular season appearances. He was rewarded with a three-year, $100 million extension this summer.
Minnesota Timberwolves News: Julius Randle opened up on playing for the New York Knicks
Before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves last year, Julius Randle spent five years with the New York Knicks, and he reflected on his time with his former team. The three-time NBA All-Star admitted that he didn’t fully enjoy playing in New York.
“It ain’t fun, it ain’t fun.” Randle told Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “You can’t really focus on the game, you’re focused on everything else other than the game itself.”
“You’re living and dying with every single shot, every single turnover, every single loss. It’s not a fun way to play. It’s exhausting,” he added.
