Julius Randle would rather play against LeBron James than with him

The Los Angeles Lakers have themselves a keeper in forward Julius Randle, their No. 7 pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

A few days before he was drafted, Randle sat down with the team at GQ.com to discuss basketball, fashion and whether or not he’d like to one day play with LeBron James of the Miami Heat.

More from LeBron James

• LeBron James, Giannis, Damian Lillard all want that Mbappé money
• We finally have the worst LeBron James take of all time, and it’s glorious
• Bruce Brown takes shot at Lakers, LeBron James after cashing in
• LeBron James confirms the obvious about retirement in fiery ESPYs speech
• The new NBA flopping rules explained

Showcasing his competitive nature, Randle declared that he’d rather defeat the best the NBA has to offer than willingly align himself with them.

Per the Los Angeles Times:

“I’d rather play against LeBron. I just have an older mentality,” he said. “I want to beat the best. Maybe in the future I’d want to play with him. I’ve been watching him my whole life. I’d rather compete against him and try and beat him than be on his team.” 

Randle opted out of doing a second workout with the Boston Celtics so he could take part in the interview.

He helped guide his Kentucky Wildcats to the NCAA Championship game before eventually falling to the Connecticut Huskies.

When asked which players he believes have the best fashion sense, Randle mentioned Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Nick Young of the Lakers, one of his new teammates.

Solid foreshadowing on his part.

“I’m 6-9. But somehow I’m lucky enough to where I can go into Neiman’s and find a shirt I like and it fits just right,” said Randle.