In a little over a year, coach Chris Finch has helped take the Timberwolves from the lottery to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
The franchise rewarded Finch with a multi-year contract extension for him and his staff, the team announced Monday morning.
"I am excited that Chris will be leading our team for years to come," executive vice president Sachin Gupta said in the release. "His leadership both on and off the court is unmatched and was evident by this year's team success that featured great improvement on both ends of the court. We look forward to the start of the postseason [Tuesday] night and building towards more success in the future."
The deal covers four seasons, a source confirmed.
The Wolves can make their first playoff appearance in four seasons with a victory in a play-in game Tuesday against the Clippers or, should they lose Tuesday, against the winner of New Orleans and San Antonio one Friday.
"I am thankful to Glen [Taylor], Becky [Taylor] and the entire ownership group for their ongoing support and commitment," Finch said in the release. "It's been a season that all of us, including our fans can be proud of and I'm grateful that my staff will continue to lead us forward."
Finch's .504 winning percentage through his two seasons ranks second in franchise history behind only Flip Saunders (.521). Finch came to the Wolves after spending several years as a head coach in Europe and an assistant in the NBA.
He was a finalist for the head coaching job when Gersson Rosas initially took over as President of Basketball Operations in 2019. Rosas opted to hire Ryan Saunders permanently at the time. After firing Saunders last February, Rosas hired Finch, who was an assistant with Toronto.
The move drew criticism for its seemingly truncated search process, which passed over a potential interim replacement in associate head coach David Vanterpool, who is Black.
Rosas defended his hiring, and under Finch the Wolves started to improve late last season.
"I think he just earned our respect," center Karl-Anthony Towns said recently. "The organic and right way, through the work. Being a mastermind when it comes to offense and defense and also just the relationship."
Finch and Gupta have a good relationship dating to their days working for the Rockets organization and helped guide the Wolves after Rosas' firing in September.
The Wolves posted their second highest win total (46-36) since 2004 this season and improved in metrics across the board. Their defensive efficiency jumped from 28th to 13th while the offense went from 25th to seventh.
They led the league in scoring (115.9 per game) and in three-pointers.
Finch has earned praise from his players on how he has navigated this season, walking both the line of holding them accountable while building relationships with them.
"He built relationships with each one of us and has our respect," Towns said. "I think we all can call him a good friend of ours. I think that's what translates to what you see in the players, the way they respond to his words and also respond to big games, knowing we want to get it for him more than anything."
The Wolves' ownership group has now locked in Finch but has not decided who will run its basketball operations on a permanent basis. Gupta was given day-to-day duties upon Rosas' firing but has not been named the permanent head of basketball operations. It's still unclear whether they will give that distinction to Gupta or search for a new president.
