Anthony Randolph finally found his place in basketball

In the second quarter of the basketball version of El Clasico on Friday, Barcelona’s Joey Dorsey caught a pass on a fast break and attempted to throw down a dunk. A Real Madrid player rotated over, and rejected that dunk attempt in one of the best plays of the year. The block left many wondering who was that explosive, stretchy forward who made such an incredible play. Was he a rising draft prospect? A former D-Leaguer looking to make a statement towards an NBA career? The answer was as shocking as the block: By George, that was former lottery pick Anthony Randolph!

Randolph’s name is probably one that NBA fans have heard in awhile. Drafted 14th in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, Randolph was once the poster boy for potential in the NBA. Wowing at the draft combine with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, shooting touch, ball skills, and amazing athletic ability, Randolph looked to be a part of the future of the NBA — a long, freak athlete who could rebound, protect the rim, and potentially step out to the 3-point line at the power forward spot. If he could refine his game, particularly defensively, Randolph looked like a future All-Star.

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However, when the biggest impediment to success is development and refinement of basketball IQ, it’s probably not great to have your first four years in the league spent with the post-We Believe Warriors, the Knicks, and the David Kahn Timberwolves. Randolph never really had a chance to fully develop, alternating between power forward and center minutes and seeing playing time shuffled around on teams that were floating in the abyss.

He was traded twice for All-Stars (David Lee in 2010, Carmelo Anthony in 2011), each time enticing his new team as a potential building block. But without the acumen to make good defensive rotations, or the structure to tell him where to go and what shots to take (or more importantly, not take), Randolph’s potential never materialized, and after being traded for a third time in six years in the summer of 2014, he was out of the NBA entirely, right when he should have hit his prime.

But just because his career in the NBA is likely over, doesn’t mean the now 27-year old Randolph is done with basketball. After being waived by the Bulls after the 2014 draft-day trade, Randolph latched on in Russia at Lokomotiv Kuban. There, he teamed with former Wizards forward Chris Singleton and current Hawks guard Malcolm Delaney to push Loko from the Eurocup to Euroleague. Once there, he averaged 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game to help the team run through a very surprising Final 4 run. That helped him earn a decent new contract with Real Madrid, where he’s averaged 9.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this year.

In a time before the D-League was mainstream, Randolph became a cautionary tale against players who had the body of an NBA superstar and the college production of a bewildered freshman. In another life, Randolph could have been Skal Labissiere or Clint Capela, allowed to hammer out some kinks and learn the game outside of the NBA’s main stage for a year or two. But alas, that wasn’t the case in 2009, and Randolph still to this day struggles mightily with the finer concepts of defense and offensive timing.

This needless hedge to the 3-point arc is something we saw a lot of in the NBA. Randolph struggles with more complex responsibilities, and he can sometimes lose his attention on this end. After all, the result of his amazing block from last week was another Joey Dorsey dunk, because Randolph stopped defending to celebrate.

Offensively, Randolph’s shot selection is still a bit of an issue. He’s still taking almost two 3s a game, despite hitting just 27.6 percent. He also can get caught out of position at times, unsure of what to do or where to go next. Watch this Sergio Llull 3, where Randolph frees his teammate Llull and then sets a screen on air as Llull takes a 3 behind him:

Despite these continued issues, Randolph has still proven to be an incredible sixth man for Euroleague’s second-best squad this year. In Euroleague, Randolph’s athleticism is further above the average than it was in the NBA, and Randolph can rely on it with more success. When your only real move is blowing by a defender and finishing at the rim with your length, it’s much easier to do that against Dimitrios Agravanis than it would be against Rudy Gay or Thad Young:

Real Madrid’s depth also allows them to unleash the raw athleticism of Randolph in spots. With power rebounder Gustavo Ayon at center and the technically sound duo of Jonas Maciulis and Felipe Reyes at the four, Real can readily inject Randolph and Othello Hunter in against bench units, and let Randolph unleash his raw athleticism. Randolph doesn’t have to think as much in this role, instead flying around dunking, rebounding, and blocking shots with impunity. Sure, Randolph gets reckless at times, but the chaos he creates is game-changing, and on a veteran squad like Real Madrid, an injection of Randolph’s improvised terror helps them continue to press opponents when they rest their best players.

Randolph struggled for years to find a place in the NBA landscape, undone by his own shortcomings and his teams’ inabilities to push him down a development path. In Europe, he’s finally found a place where he is a better fit. Able to use his athleticism and read and react, Randolph is only asked by Madrid to do the things he’s good at, and the things he struggles with are compensated for by his raw talent and his team’s depth and structure. At 24-years old, Randolph was without place and deemed a failure. Now at 27, he’s in a role perfect for him on one of the best teams in Europe.

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