Joe Ingles as Luka. Bronny James as Ant. A look at scout teams for Wolves-Lakers

The scout teams for Minnesota and Los Angeles have been drawing attention on social media.

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Joe Ingles warms up prior to the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in New York on April 3, 2025. | Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images

How are the Minnesota Timberwolves preparing for a rematch with Luka Doncic? With Joe Ingles.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch revealed on Tuesday that Ingles has stepped into Doncic's role on Minnesota's scout team as it prepares for a Western Conference first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers that begins Saturday.

"We have our scout team ready, and yeah, it's hard to replicate everything (Doncic) does," Finch told reporters Tuesday. "We have Joe Ingles kind of simulating some of the things. Gives us a comp on size and IQ, for sure. But it's certainly tough, and then obviously you have to try and simulate LeBron (James) and the other guys around him."

Ingles being the stand-in for Doncic at Wolves practices drew a lot of attention on social media from fans who found the comparison to Doncic amusing, which led to reporters in Los Angeles to ask Lakers coach J.J. Redick who his team is using to simulate Anthony Edwards. That's former Wolves guard Shake Milton and Bronny James, son of LeBron James.

Bleacher Report put together a graphic with Joe Ingles overlayed on Luka Doncic and Bronny James overlayed on Anthony Edwards. Ingles has been standing in as Doncic on the Minnesota Timberwolves' scout team, while James has stood in for Edwards on the Los Angeles Lakers' scout team ahead of the two teams meeting in the first round of the 2025 Western Conference playoffs. | Screenshot of Bleacher Report tweet

Scout teams are typically comprised of players deeper down the bench who share similar traits with their opponent. Ingles makes sense as a stand-in for Doncic with similar size and passing ability, while Milton and Bronny are both athletic guards who are similar in size to Edwards. Terrence Shannon Jr. stood in as LeBron, per the Pioneer Press' Jace Frederick.

Redick noted scout teams aren't used as frequently as they used to in the NBA, but were more common when he played.

"It's not part of NBA culture anymore to do a scout team, which when I was early in my career and not playing, I was on the scout team every single game in the regular season, so I would always relish the chance to be (Manu) Ginobili, D-Wade or J.R. Smith and take all the shots," Redick said Wednesday. "But it's very uncommon that you do that in the regular season, so I don't even know if these guys are used to that, but it's something we'll implement again (Thursday) as well."

Redick is in his first year as an NBA coach and is hoping to lead the Lakers past the first round after last season's early exit against the Denver Nuggets. While this is his first experience as a coach, Redick is familiar with the playoff routine.

"I've said this kinda all year, every experience this year has been simultaneously different but the same," he said. "My job and role is different than it was in the 14 years I played in the playoffs as a player, but a lot of this feels familiar, just the job I have to do is different."