The Minnesota Timberwolves dished out a huge assist to Joe Ingles and his family.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch inserted Ingles into the team’s starting lineup Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Before Friday’s game, Ingles had not started in the NBA since the 2021-22 season.
The lineup switch was made with Ingles’ son Jacob in mind. Jacob, who is autistic, has had trouble watching NBA games in the past due to the sensory overload in such environments.
Jacob was able to get through his first full live game on Wednesday during the Timberwolves’ previous contest, which also came against the Pelicans. However, his dad Joe did not see the floor during Minnesota’s 119-115 loss to New Orleans.
With Jacob attending again on Friday, Finch made sure Joe was out there, literally from the jump.
This Joe Ingles story 🥹
— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2025
Joe's wife, Renae, and their 3 kids are in town. Last week, their son Jacob, who is autistic, made it through his first ever NBA game in-arena. But Joe didn't play…
Tonight, Chris Finch started Ingles to make sure Jacob could see his dad play 🫶 pic.twitter.com/fKrHuFTNEi
Finch admitted that he felt “emotional” as he talked about the decision during his postgame press conference.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to do the human thing,” Finch told reporters about his decision to start Joe Ingles. “We always talk about how all these minutes matter, and those minutes mattered for another reason.
“Someone put it in my head today as an idea to make sure Joe could see the floor, and I figured if we’re going to do it, let’s do it in style.”
Ingles missed all three of his shot attempts and dished out one assist in his six minutes of action. While “Jinglin’ Joe” did not have a great game by any measure, his appearance may have energized the rest of his team.
The Timberwolves ran away with a 134-93 win two days after losing by four to the very same Pelicans squad.
