PORTLAND, ORE. – Timberwolves coach Chris Finch isn’t often one for sentimentality.
But after Thursday’s 128-91 victory over the Trail Blazers, Finch offered himself a moment of reflection just before he boarded a flight to Indianapolis with Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns for this weekend’s All-Star Game.
Finch will get to coach both Edwards and Towns on the Western Conference team, and after Thursday’s game, he thought about how far the team has come since he took the job nearly three years ago, in late February 2021.
Finch took over for Ryan Saunders midseason. Saunders was close with Karl-Anthony Towns, but from the get-go, Towns expressed support for Finch. That meant a lot to Finch at the time, and it still does. Finch remembers meeting the rookie version of Edwards, who was still in the process of figuring out his way in the NBA. To reach the All-Star Game with them three years later is “pretty special,” Finch said.
“KAT was so, so gracious and welcoming to me. Anthony was just a bright-eyed rookie, and the mission was to help restore the team around KAT, make him the centerpoint, and then bring Anthony along,” Finch said. “To be here a couple years later it’s just such a credit and a tribute to them and their willingness to be coached and learn, grow and adapt and just all the things we’ve been through during that time.
“It’s going to be really cool.”
Towns was also reflective after Thursday’s game. This will be his fourth All-Star appearance, but this one carries a little extra significance for him. In previous seasons, Towns posted numbers that were All-Star-worthy. This season, he is still an efficient offensive player, but his overall totals were down compared to his other three seasons that led to All-Star appearances. This season he has ceded some of the grip on the offense to Edwards.
So for Towns, Sunday’s appearance is a bit of validation that the league has taken notice of his sacrificing individual accolades in the name of helping his team win.