Chris Finch’s Connection With His Players Made Extending Him A No-Brainer

Before the Minnesota Timberwolves played the Orlando Magic on Feb. 2, Anthony Edwards talked about Chris Finch during a practice media scrum.

“He’s just a great coach to all the guys,” said Edwards. “He doesn’t kiss anybody’s ass. He doesn’t pick on anybody as far as ‘I’m not going to say anything to him.’ He is going to call everybody out and coaches us like a coach should. Big shoutout to him. He does a great job.”

The 2024 All-Star Game was two and a half weeks away at the time of that interview, and the Wolves were tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference. There was added importance at that time because whichever team had the best record in their respective conference at the All-Star break would send its coaching staff to coach in the All-Star Game.

Minnesota had a chance to lock up the best record in the West with a win over the Magic or the Houston Rockets, their next opponent. The Wolves didn’t beat Orlando, but they beat Houston, which meant Finch and his staff were headed to Indiana for the All-Star Game.

“That was probably the greatest thing of the season,” Edwards told the media when asked what it meant that Finch was headed to Indy. “It’s dope for him to get recognized for how great he’s coaching this year.”

When Finch returned to the locker room after the 111-90 win over the Rockets, he began giving his regular postgame speech. Little did he know, the players were holding water bottles behind their backs and gave him an ambush shower to congratulate him on coaching the All-Star Game.

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You could see the joy, pride, and pure happiness on all the players’ faces. The rapport Finch and the players built came to a beautiful head at that moment, which is why his contract extension is a no-brainer.

On Monday afternoon, the Timberwolves announced they extended Finch. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that this will keep him in Minnesota until 2027-28.

Last year was Finch’s third season with the Wolves, and he led them to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. However, the Timberwolves knew long before last year’s successful campaign that they had an elite coach.

Shortly before the team entered the Play-In Tournament in 2022, Gersson Rosas and his staff extended Finch to a multi-year contract after his first season with the team. The Wolves beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the Play-In and made the playoffs for the second time in 18 long, dark seasons. A re-energized feeling washed over the team and the fans in 2022, and Finch was at the head of it all.

Before landing his first NBA head coaching gig with the Wolves, Finch paid his dues overseas and as an assistant in the NBA. In 1997, he started coaching in England, where he transitioned from a player to a coach. Chris spent the next 12 years coaching overseas before returning to the States in 2009, where he coached the G-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers until 2011, leading them to a Development League Championship in 2010. Finch then became an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets from 2011 to 2016, during which he built a close relationship with Rosas, who was in Houston’s front office.

After his tenure in Houston, Finch left and bounced around the league. He was an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets in 2016-17, spent three seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, and then the Toronto Raptors in 2020-21.

When the Wolves parted ways with Ryan Saunders in 2021, Rosas knew exactly who he wanted to bring in. He rewarded Finch with an opportunity to be an NBA head coach, something he had worked his whole life to get.

“I am excited to announce Chris Finch as our next head coach,” said Rosas. “Chris brings a wealth of basketball experience from his time in the NBA, G League, and Internationally. He is one of the most creative basketball minds in the NBA, has success maximizing players, and I am excited to see him bring our team to the next level and beyond.”

Finch is an offensive-minded head coach who knows how to integrate talent. He helped integrate two star players in New Orleans when the Pelicans paired DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. Then, during his first head coaching gig, he had to maximize No. 1 pick Edwards next to Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota to turn the Wolves into winners.

Saunders was Ant’s first coach in the NBA, but they were only together for 30 games before the Wolves fired him. Despite the 30-year age gap between Finch and Edwards, they have grown together in many ways. As Ant was learning how to be a professional in the NBA as a teenager, Finch was learning how to coach in the NBA, which could be why the two are so close.

“He coaches his players,”

Ant hasn’t played under multiple head coaches like some players, so he doesn’t have much to compare Finch to. However, the budding superstar thrives under a coach who tells it like it is. There is a level of trust between them, which trickles down to the rest of the team. Winning cures all, and the Wolves have made the playoffs each season under Finch’s wing. Still, the battle-tested coach struck a healthy balance with his players. They get along well, which you can see in Minnesota’s on-court demeanor and how joyous they were when Finch was headed to Indy. However, the players respect and trust what Finch does. Once respect and trust are lost between a head coach and their players, the front office is forced to go searching for a new coaching leader.

However, that doesn’t appear to happen soon with Finch and his team. He has quickly climbed Minnesota’s all-time head coaching ranks by bringing consistent success to a franchise deprived of it for so long. However, his relationship – particularly with the stars – will have him residing in the North Loop for the foreseeable future.