Timberwolves coach Chris Finch receives contract extension until 2028

The Timberwolves took care of one more small thing before the start of the draft and free agency by extending coach Chris Finch’s contract by four years through the 2027/28 season.

This is the third contract Finch has signed since becoming head coach in February 2021. Under Finch’s leadership, the Wolves reached the playoffs three consecutive seasons and are now in the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2004.

Financial details were not disclosed. The NBA Draft will take place on Wednesday and Thursday before free agency negotiations begin this weekend.

“I want to thank (owner) Glen (Taylor), Becky (Taylor) and the entire organization for their continued support and commitment to me and the team,” Finch said in a statement. “I am proud of how we have been able to establish a great culture here at the Timberwolves and I look forward to continuing to lead this organization and make our fans proud.”

Finch is the second winningest coach in franchise history behind Flip Saunders with a record of 160-127. His winning percentage of .557 is the best of any coach in franchise history.

He previously signed a contract extension toward the end of the 2021-22 season. Finch finished third in this season’s Coach of the Year voting while the Wolves finished third in the Western Conference. He has put an unconventional frontcourt featuring Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert to work and oversaw Anthony Edwards’ rise to All-NBA status. Finch also coached the Western Conference in this season’s All-Star Game.

Finch coached the final two rounds of this season’s playoffs after tearing a patellar tendon in Game 4 of the first round against Phoenix when point guard Mike Conley collided with him on the sideline. Finch sat behind the bench or off to the side while his assistant Micah Nori, who interviewed for several head coaching jobs in the offseason, milled around the sideline.

Finch earned a reputation as a great offensive assistant coach in Houston and New Orleans before being hired by Gersson Rosas to replace Ryan Saunders in February 2021. This season, however, Finch was in charge of the league’s No. 1 defense.

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Finch has worked under unusual circumstances in his first four seasons as coach, having had three different bosses run the Wolves’ basketball operations during his tenure – Rosas, executive vice president Sachin Gupta, who served as interim president after Rosas was fired, and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly the past two seasons. Connelly and Finch previously worked together in Denver, where Finch was an assistant.

Despite criticism last season when the Wolves struggled in their first season after the Gobert trade, Connelly remained committed to Finch, frequently referring to him as an “elite coach.”

“Chris is a wonderful coach and an even better person,” Connelly said in a statement. “We are thrilled to see him rewarded with a well-deserved contract extension. Under his leadership, the team has improved each year and he is the perfect leader for our organization.”

Connelly recently restructured his contract to defer the severance pay stipulated in his contract until after next season, as the ownership situation between Taylor, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore must be resolved in arbitration in the next few months.