Timberwolves' Joe Ingles gets a start, and his son gets a first: Watching his dad play

After morning workouts Friday, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch wanted to speak to Joe Ingles.

The 37-year-old veteran initially thought he had done something wrong. What Finch had to say created a special moment for Ingles, a moment he thought may never come. Ingles was going to start in Friday’s game against the Pelicans, and this meant his autistic son Jacob was going to see him play live for the first time.

“It’s something I’ve always thought about,” Ingles said. “But at this point in my career, if it happened it happened, and if it didn’t, it didn’t.”

Ingles’ longtime teammate in Utah, Mike Conley, ceded his spot in the starting lineup to Ingles, whose family has spent most of the season in Orlando, where Ingles previously played before coming to Minnesota. Jacob, 8, has been working up to this moment his whole life, and this week he was able to sit through an entire game in person for the first time. But Ingles didn’t get to play. Finch wasn’t going to let that happen in Friday’s 134-93 victory.

“To look up there tonight and I could see my name, and especially with Jacob — and to Mike as well, being cool with it, I think it’s rare in this league for someone to give up something that he’s earned over 16 years to give me that opportunity,” Ingles said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Finch, who appeared choked up during his postgame news conference, said the decision to start Ingles and to see him out there was “emotional.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to do the human thing,” Finch said. “We always talk about all these minutes matter, and those minutes matter for another reason. Someone put it in my head today … and I figured, if we’re going to do it, let’s do it in style. So guys were behind it, and I think it gave us the just the right, the right boost that we needed and change of energy.”

Ingles opened up after the game about the journey it took for his family to get to this point with Jacob. How they weren’t sure if he would ever speak. Then he would come to games in Utah but be in the family room for a little bit. On a previous Minnesota visit, Jacob was able to attend a Wild game for a few minutes.

“Jacob has never been able to enjoy the same things his brother and sister have,” Ingles said. “I think a lot of people in life take it for granted, especially with kids.”

At times Joe would tell Jacob he was going to play basketball, and Jacob would groan in disapproval. As Ingles said, “he just wants his dad home.”

“It gets kind of confused because of the money and the lifestyle of what we get to live,” Ingles said. “There’s a little less stress because I can afford to pay for Jacob to get what he needs, but it doesn’t take away the meltdowns in the supermarket. There’s been so many times that my wife [Renae] is laying on the floor in public and you can feel people staring at you, you know they’re judging you and commenting about it. But they have no idea what he’s gone through that day or the night before or the situation.”

But Friday was a good day. After the game, Ingles said Jacob gave him his Wolves chain and “begged for me to take him home.” His coach and teammates were only too happy for him to have this moment with his family.

“Joe’s meant so much to us this season,” Finch said. “I can’t begin to thank him for his leadership in a team such as ours and the way we’re constructed. We brought him here with a different vision, and that hasn’t worked out, just simply because we’ve got so much depth. … He’s been always ready, but his his voice in the locker room and his presence and his personality on this team, his leadership has meant everything.”

Added Jaden McDaniels, with a rare smile: “He means a lot. He brings energy even though he don’t play as much. Comes every day, get his work in and he’s still a great vet. I listen to what he say, and he don’t listen to me, but I listen to him, for sure.”

Ingles didn’t score in his 6 minutes, 10 seconds of playing time, but that was beside the point. He said he will never forget the gesture Finch made did for him and his family.

“People get fired every day. You see coaches on three-, four-year deals, players getting traded. It’s a brutal business,” Ingles said. “The fact that it even crossed his mind shows a lot.”