LOS ANGELES – One after another, young Lakers stars have been knocked out of the lineup by injuries. A groin injury and a concussion for Brandon Ingram; a couple of knee injuries for Lonzo Ball; and after Friday, a second sprained ankle for Kyle Kuzma.
Amid that chaos, Julius Randle has been a paragon of durability.
With three games remaining, the fourth-year power forward is on the cusp of playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career.
“That’s a goal of mine,” Randle said, adding he wants to prove it to himself as well as his teammates. “I want to be out there competing with them every night, and as long as Coach (Luke Walton) lets me go, I’m going to be fine. I’m going to be out there.”
Randle is the only Lakers player to play in all 79 games, while Kuzma has missed only two. Last season, Jordan Clarkson became the first Lakers player to appear in every game since 2010-11, when six players played in every game.
In the years since, routine rest has become part of the NBA. Teams like the Lakers have become extra cautious with injured players, as evidenced with their handling of Ball, their prized rookie.
That makes Randle’s quest to play in all 82 games, especially for a young player at the center of a rebuild, a point of respect for his peers in the locker room.
“He’s a rock,” said center Brook Lopez, who played 82 games each of his first two seasons. “And we definitely look to him for so much each and every game. It gives us a good feeling knowing he’s on the court each and every night.”
Randle also understands the value of being on the court. He has lived the alternative, breaking his right fibula in his NBA debut Oct. 28, 2014.
He missed the rest of that season, but only nine games in the three years since.
“I haven’t missed many games since kind of the freak injury,” Randle said. “Knock on wood. I don’t want to miss any. So that’s just a testament to the awesome training staff, work in the weight room.”
Randle will become a restricted free agent this summer. Though the Lakers would like to keep him, his future will hinge on how much money another team is willing to pay and the success the Lakers have wooing LeBron James and Paul George.
If Randle’s time with the Lakers is running out, he’s made the most of it, averaging a career-high 16.2 points while grabbing eight rebounds per game. Randle ranks 10th in the NBA in field goal percentage at 55.8 percent, and on Friday he corralled his 25th double-double and 12th in his past 15 games.
“His willingness to continue to try to grow as a player is really impressive,” Walton said, “because he’s so dominant physically and he has had so much success recently. I feel like if he wanted to, he could just put his head down and get to the rim and score 30 points a night.”
Instead, the Lakers want him to be a playmaker, kick out extra passes and slow down to read defenses.
“We’re asking more of him,” Walton said.
Randle is on the verge of giving the Lakers more than he ever has.
