Minneapolis/St. Paul – The NBA tonight announced that Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch will coach the Western Conference All-Stars in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis. Finch clinched the coaching honor after tonight’s 111-90 Timberwolves win over the Houston Rockets.
This marks the first time in Finch’s career being named an All-Star Head Coach and the second time in Timberwolves history a head coach has been named to the All-Star Game. Flip Saunders coached the Western Conference All-Stars to a 136-132 victory at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Finch is in his fourth season as head coach of the Timberwolves and has guided the Wolves to a 35-15 record this season, tied for the best 50-game start to a season in franchise history (35 wins in 2003-04). On Dec. 4, 2023, Finch was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for October and November after leading the Wolves to a 14-4 record to begin the 2023-24 season. It was the first monthly honor of Finch’s coaching career, and he became the third Timberwolves head coach to win the award, joining Kevin McHale (Jan. 2009) and Flip Saunders (April 2004, Feb. 2003, Jan. 2001 and Jan. 2000).
Hired on Feb. 22, 2021, Finch’s 139- total wins over the last four seasons rank second in team history (Flip Saunders, 427) and his .545 winning percentage is the franchise’s best mark among head coaches. After the Timberwolves’ 99-96 win over the Golden State Warriors on Mar. 26, 2023, he recorded his 100th career win, joining Flip Saunders as the only two coaches in Wolves history with 100 or more victories.
The Reading, Pa. native led the Timberwolves to consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since a string of eight straight playoff appearances from 1997-2004. After winning 42 games last season and 46 in 2021-22, Minnesota won 40+ games in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.