Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas today announced he has named Chris Finch as the Timberwolves Head Coach. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
“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.”
“I would like to thank Glen Taylor and Gersson Rosas for this incredible opportunity to be the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Finch. “I look forward to working hand and hand with Gersson to build and lead a team that Timberwolves fans will be proud of. We have excellent pieces in place and I can’t wait to get to work.”
Known as one of the best offensive coaching minds in the NBA, Finch has coached the likes of Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden, Nikola Jokić, Zion Williamson and Kyle Lowry.
Finch, 51, has over 24 years of NBA and G League experience, serving most recently as an assistant coach under Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors this season. Prior to that, he made coaching stops with the New Orleans Pelicans as associate head coach from 2017-20, the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach from 2016-17 and the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach from 2011-16. Finch was named the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rocket’s G League affiliate in 2009. He led the Vipers to back-to-back G League Finals appearances, compiling a 67-33 (.670) record in his two seasons. After leading Rio Grande Valley to the 2010 G League Championship, Finch received the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the league’s best head coach.
The Reading, Pennsylvania native played overseas in the British Basketball League (BBL) for the Sheffield Sharks from 1993-97 before coaching the same team from 1997-2003. Finch was named the BBL Coach of the Year in 1998-99. He continued to coach overseas for 12 years including in Germany and Belgium.
Finch also served as the head coach of Great Britain’s National Team from 2006-13, where he led the national team in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He also led them to a European Championship berth in 2009 and 2011, the team’s first appearances since 1981.
A Franklin & Marshall College graduate in 1992, Finch was as a two-time All-American, and was inducted into the F&M Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He started the final 115 games of his collegiate career and compiled a 102-13 record (.887), which stood as the most career wins as a starter in NCAA Division III history.
(info courtesy of Wolves)