Chris Finch Perfectly Explained Why Joe Ingles Starting Was About More Than Basketball

Joe Ingles got the opportunity to start for the Timberwolves in front of his son.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Joe Ingles. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves gave Joe Ingles the start for the first time in three years on Friday, providing him the rare opportunity to play in front of all three of his kids. Normally, Ingles's wife, Renae, lives with their three kids in Orlando and don't get to watch Ingles play in person.

This week, Ingles's son, Jacob, was able to watch an entire basketball game in an arena for the first time ever. Jacob is autistic, and the sensory overload of attending an NBA game is often too much, but he watched a full game last Sunday. The only issue, Ingles didn't play in that game.

With Jacob attending a game again on Friday, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch ensured that he would be able to watch his father play live, and started Ingles.

"It was emotional," Finch said after the game. "Sometimes you gotta do the human thing. We always talk about all these minutes matter, and those minutes matter for another reason. Someone put it in my head today as an idea to make sure Joe could see the floor. I figured if we're going to do it, let's do it in style. Guys were behind it and I think it gave us the right boost that we needed and change of energy. It's not often that you get to do those types of things but we're really happy that we could."

Coach Finch on starting Joe Ingles so his son could be able to watch him #ClassAct 🐺🐺🐺 pic.twitter.com/lFJdvGEvYw

— SneakerReporter (@SneakerReporter) March 22, 2025

Ingles seemed touched by the gesture after the game. "People get fired every day. You see coaches on three, four-year deals, players getting traded. It’s a brutal business. The fact that it even crossed his mind shows a lot," he said, via The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski.

Ingles logged six minutes of action in front of his son and recorded one assist as the Timberwolves took down the New Orleans Pelicans 134-93.

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