By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Everything changed for Anthony Randolph when the 2021-22 season was going towards the bottom line. Since coming to Madrid, the ACB Finals against Barcelona had become a tradition, having played them twice already, in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 editions.
Game 1 was a good occasion to put the head in front against the Catalans and at the same time face a significant challenge against a superstar-caliber player like Nikola Mirotic. While confronting Barcelona’s go-to guy, he twisted his knee. Palau Blaugrana reserved him an applauding ovation.
Tearing his ACL at almost 32 years of age would have meant cutting off a vast part of the journey toward his sunset basketball boulevard. Especially considering he was coming off a long-awaited recovery after injuring his Achille’s heel in December 2020, against Olympiacos. Back-to-back cruel setbacks.
“It knocked me off of my pedestal”, he first opened to Eurohoops’ Cesare Milanti after officially announcing his retirement from basketball. “I felt like I still had a lot left in the tank”, he quickly added.
“I went from being a guy who could go out there and do whatever popped into his head without any problem, for the most part, all the way to seeing the plays happening but my body not reacting the way I wanted to react”, he continued, sharing his frustration. But basketball rewarded his resiliency.
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Only a few months after returning from the second consecutive tragic injury, he won the second EuroLeague title of his career, putting the cherry on top of his sixth-ever EuroLeague Final Four – only Kyle Hines, J.R. Holden, and Derrick Sharp have more appearances there as Americans.
“You couldn’t tell me after we won I didn’t score 30″, he said remembering the 2022-23 EuroLeague Final against Olympiacos, where he registered the last three points of his EuroLeague career. Parting ways with Real Madrid at the end of that cruel but winning campaign, he was forced to miss the whole 2023-24 season. Injuries had completely turned his latest playing days around.
“It’s mentally draining to be injured away from the team. Trying to come back into a team of the caliber of Real Madrid and integrate yourself in the middle of the season was very difficult. I just kept plugging away to try to add value in whatever way”, he recalled the last playing days of his professional career.
“A huge thing that anyone could take from sports is that it’s really not about you. For me to come and be included in the team after those injuries, and at that highest level, was special. Those three points felt like 30 points”, Anthony Randolph remembered his short-handed performance against Olympiacos.
“What people don’t understand is that when you have injuries like that, also happening back-to-back, you’re somewhat not connected with the team as much as you are normally. You’re doing rehab and training pretty much by yourself, you have to be very strong mentally to fight through that and it affects you. But it’s a part of the game”, the 35-year-old former veteran reflected.
“I always say I have been extremely blessed to even play as long as I went without any major injuries. It’s something as an athlete we all have in the back of our heads. Injuries are a part of the game, it’s gonna happen. I’m just grateful that it didn’t happen sooner in my career because I know a lot of guys who have been injured before they even had a chance to establish themselves”, he saw the glass half-full.
From dreaming about college to the Russian culture shock
Announcing his retirement from basketball, Anthony Randolph chose some specific words: “Basketball has given me more than I could have ever dreamed”. So, what was he dreaming about when growing up, aiming to become a professional basketball player?
“When I first started playing, the goal was to make it to college, get a free education, and then hopefully be one of the lucky ones to be drafted. And that was the basic dream”, he first said. “Once I made it to the league, my goal was to play for about 10 years, which was the benchmark as far as having a decent career and longevity in the profession of basketball. I feel like I far exceeded that”, he commented.
The LSU Fighting Tigers welcomed him with open arms and he responded with 15.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game. He was the only player to play and start in all 31 games for the team. Among freshmen in the league, he was 5th in scoring, 1st in rebounds and blocks.
Being selected with the 14th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by Golden State, he was the best player available but at the wrong time possible. “There was a transition time during that period in the NBA. We still had true centers at the time I came into the league. It was a different type of game. I had to play a certain way in order to try to fit in and stay there”, Randolph said.
Six years in the NBA, between the Warriors (2008-10), New York Knicks (2010-11), Minnesota Timberwolves (2011-12), and Denver Nuggets (2012-14) didn’t honor his potential. But then Lokomotiv Kuban came. “Being a stretch four added value to me over here in Europe and it allowed me to carve out my own space, becoming the player I became. Adapting myself, I added value to the team”, he reflected.
“Honestly, going to Russia from America was a culture shock. I did not speak the language, it was very cold and the approach to the game was much different”, he first said about his experience in Russia, where he stayed for two seasons – in the 2014-15 EuroCup and in the 2015-16 EuroLeague.
Everything was different and shaped his personality. “In our first couple of practices, I would come in, take off my uniform, and throw it in the middle of the floor expecting to have it washed and hung up in my locker by the time I got there the next day. All my teammates looked at me like crazy”, he revealed. “No, Ant. You gotta take that home and wash it yourself”, they told me”, he also added.
“That was a huge shock to me, coming from the NBA. But I think it was great: it humbled me and allowed me to fall in love with the game again”, Randolph said. Looking back at it, it really feels like he was able to display the best version of himself on the floor.
In his first season with Lokomotiv, he was named to the 2014-15 All-EuroCup Second Team by averaging 12.7 points – over 55.4% from two-point range and 54.8% from deep – and 6.0 rebounds in only 23:05 minutes of playing time per game, as the team’s run ended against Unics Kazan in the Quarter-Finals. The following season, they all exceeded expectations moving up to the EuroLeague.
“It was a combination of things coming together perfectly”, he said about the team that went all the way to the 2015-16 EuroLeague Final Four as rookies. “All of the great players we had on that team were young but still establishing themselves, we all just came together at the right time. There were no egos, we all had one goal from the very beginning”, he said about Lokomotiv Kuban’s roster at the time.
“We understood that with our talent, we could make it and do something special. And I think we did. I learned so much from the players on that team such as Malcolm Delaney. All of those guys helped me transition my game to the European game”, he commented about his first overseas experience.
“They helped me understand that when you get it at the top, you don’t have to immediately attack the defense: you can swing it, go set a pick and roll, and they get you in a better position to score. That experience was one of my top three experiences as a pro athlete, being on a team with so many unselfish guys who went on and had amazing careers”, Anthony Randolph continued on Lokomotiv.
The master behind Loko’s chessboard was Georgios Bartzokas. “He allows you to go out there and play, making mistakes. As an athlete, there’s nothing better than that, not having to be looking over your shoulder, worrying about the coach breathing down your neck. It’s an amazing feeling: it frees you, and you can tell with the way [Olympiacoas] play. He’s had a lot of success and he’s going to continue to have success. He’s a players’ coach”, he also commented on the Greek tactician.
Stepping forward mentally by moving to Real Madrid
Moving to a EuroLeague contending team was the natural step to continue his career in Europe. Following an All-EuroLeague Second Team kind of season as a rookie, where he averaged 14.5 points – tied with Ioannis Bourousis as 5th best scorer overall – and 6.0 rebounds with Lokomotiv Kuban.
Picking up the phone when receiving a call from a number with the +34 code in front, he decided his next destination would have been Real Madrid. “I was one of the best fours at that time in Europe and I wasn’t starting: that was messing with me. I kept thinking about what I was doing wrong”, he reflected on his first tough weeks in the Spanish capital. Then, a conversation with Pablo Laso happened.
“He sat me down. “Look at our schedule. It’s a long season”, he first told me. “We’re not playing for this one game. We’re not playing for personal stats. We’re not playing for ourselves”, he said pointing up to the rafters, to all the banners that Real Madrid had”, Randolph remembered.
Pablo Laso continued. “That’s what we’re playing for. We’re playing for titles, to put hang banners. It’s simple. We have a great roster, big budget, great players. You don’t have to do as much. You can knock down a three, get to the basket, and when you doing your thing, we’ll let you rock”, he continued. That really stuck with me. Once I bought into that, my career took another step”, the veteran followed.
The Silent Assassin has always loved two main things throughout his professional basketball career: pressure on his back, being put in uncomfortable positions to see who comes out on top, and competing for the highest prize each and every year. Real Madrid helped him achieve both.
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Most importantly, he was helped in such a process by veteran and established legends of the European game, clutch role players, and unique personalities. “Trusting your teammates makes life a lot easier. We had an unselfishness to understand that we were all great players in our own right. If any of us went to a different team, they would have been the man”, he commented on those stacked Real Madrid rosters.
“For us all to understand and defer from someone having a great game, putting egos aside, was huge. You don’t get that a lot on big teams with big salaries and egos coming to play. That‘s why we were so successful. That’s a testament to Pablo [Laso], to the coaching staff, and the front office”, he added.
Being always ready to catch the ball and knock off a three-pointer, Facundo Campazzo was the perfect deliverer when it came to finding him on the spot. “[Playing with him] is the easiest. It doesn’t really get much better than that. Offensively and defensively, he’s amazing. It’s just so easy to play with him. I was kind of sick when they resigned him and I wasn’t on the team anymore”, he commented.
“That’s just who Facu [Campazzo] is. Some players just have it and he’s one of those guys. When you try to force things like that, It’s gonna go bad: it usually turns into a turnover or a mistake. But with him, it’s just who he is as a player, but it’s also a testament to the hard work and dedication that he puts into the game”, Anthony Randolph continued about the Argentinian playmaker.
As he left Real Madrid, the flashy point guard returned after the 2022-23 EuroLeague Final Four, where Chus Mateo managed to get the title home in his first head coaching appearance on the highest stage. “To come in and take over a top club like that is a testament to him. Chus [Mateo] is first of all a good and strong-minded person. He did the best that he could in the situation he was given. He’s one of the best people I’ve met and I think he handled it very well. He deserved that moment”, he praised him.
“Witnessing Luka Doncic’s greatness” from up close
Among all the great teammates he has shared the court with throughout his well-celebrated career. Anthony Randolph witnessed Luka Doncic’s outstanding trajectory from the very beginning. “You saw from day one that he was going to be great. I mean God willing he never had any injuries. Some people are born to do certain things and I think Luka [Doncic] was born to play basketball”, he said.
“I feel like he gets so much joy from playing the game. When you are blessed with that much God-given talent and also get joy from the game, there’s nowhere but up for you”, he commented, sharing the reasons behind his decision to follow him and the whole Slovenian national team at EuroBasket 2017.
“I wanted to be around Luka [Doncic]’s greatness even more, just saying that I was able to see it firsthand. Then, being able to play with Goran and Zoran [Dragic], and all the others. I literally smile when I think about my experiences with the Slovenian team. It will always be my second home. I love the country, I love the people I’ve met there. It was a great experience”, he shared.
Being able to win the bronze medal with Team USA at the 2015 Panamerican Games and then the gold medal at EuroBasket 2017 with Slovenia to perfectly conclude a 9-0 unbeaten run, Anthony Randolph looked back at the opportunity of being a naturalized player for the Balkan country as a blessing.
Zlati Tonček, ki nam je pomagal do zgodovinskega naslova evropskih prvakov, zaključuje svojo košarkarsko kariero. ✨
Hvala za vse, Anthony, in srečno na vseh prihodnjih poteh! 💙#kzs | @TelemachSi pic.twitter.com/RKL64BmsAx
— Košarkarska zveza SIovenije (@kzs_si) December 13, 2024
“That whole summer was one of my top experiences as a professional athlete, seeing such a small country with so much love for the game and support for their guys. I was just a small piece of that because they had put in so much work for the years before I even got there to get to that level”, he said.
“I feel like I would have done myself a disservice if I had gone with my first thought process of not joining that team. I’m glad that Luka [Doncic] and the Slovenian Federation kept on me to force my hand to join the team. It was probably one of the best decisions I made”, Randolph continued.
Luka Doncic himself, from the United States, praised his former Slovenia and Real Madrid teammate. “At the time he joined Real Madrid, he was an amazing player. He’s from Dallas, actually. Just playing with him was easy. Then he joined the national team. He helped us win that gold. Without him, we couldn’t do it. So, just an amazing player, a great person. I am happy that I was able to share some of my seasons with him”, the Slovenian phenomenon reflected after Randolph’s retirement.
Anthony Randolph always wanted to “be part of some special players’ growth and development”. Having the vast majority of basketball fans embracing love alongside established former teammates of his tells a lot about what he left on the court throughout 15 years of pure professionalism.
Finding his home in Europe after a “bumpy ride” at the first stages of his career was needed to make a name for himself. Injuries have deprived us of the ultimate achievements of his legacy. But that’s “part of the game”. Or, at least, that’s how the Silent Assassin has thought back on it.
PHOTO CREDIT: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague