Dirk Nowitzki on Julius Randle: 'He puts the ball on the floor like no other power forward in this league'

Julius Randle had undoubtedly the best game of his young pro career, dropping 22 points on 52.9% shooting and pulling down 15 rebounds in the Lakers' 103-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Randle was matched up against longtime Mavericks' franchise player, former MVP, and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki for the majority of the contest, and Dirk came away impressed with the young power forward the Lakers hope can be a similar type of franchise cornerstone.

"He puts the ball on the floor like no other power forward in this league," Dirk told reporters after the game. "His future is very bright." While Randle was teasing Lakers fans with his potential on the offensive end, Dirk had a night that left Mavericks fans reminiscing about how great he used to be with 25 points on 76.9% shooting and 9 rebounds of his own.

Dirk may be one of the greatest power forwards to ever play, but Randle was not willing to use that as an excuse, and was not satisfied with just producing against Nowitzki on one end of the floor:

Randle downplaying his 22 points & 15 boards: "I have to make sure I do that on the defensive end."

— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 2, 2015

Randle is always saying the right things, with a constant focus on finding things to improve upon rather than settling in and being comfortable with what he has done well. If he can continue to make improvements, nights like tonight will become routine rather than a reason for celebration, and the Lakers will have a power forward to build around for years to come.