Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch tears patellar tendon

Chris Finch was able to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to their first series sweep in franchise history. The head coach was not on the floor for the final two minutes of Minnesota’s 122-116 Game 4 victory over the Phoenix Suns after a collision with point guard Mike Conley.

Coach Finch is down and holding his knee pic.twitter.com/dt7iXlGOEv

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 29, 2024

The Timberwolves head coach is feared to have suffered a torn patellar tendon, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who tweeted:

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is feared to have a torn patellar tendon in his knee on late game collision during Game 4 win in Phoenix, sources say. Brutal.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 29, 2024

Finch was not on the court for the final 1:41 of Game 4, with assistant coach Micah Nori assuming the coaching duties. He left the arena on a cart and did not speak with the media after the series-clinching victory. He was, however, with the team after the win. The Timberwolves’ official Twitter account shared photos of the head coach with stars Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony-Towns:

THIS IS FOR YOU, COACH 🫶 pic.twitter.com/KOXL30aoBw

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 29, 2024

Chris Hine of The Star Tribune shared Conley’s comments on the play, tweeting:

Mike Conley on Finch: "He didn’t wanna see me at 1st. I walked in & he started to run away. He tried to shoo me away. I didn’t see him, honestly at first, I was just trying to push the ball up the floor and Book hip checked me out of bounds and when I saw him it was too late."

— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) April 29, 2024

Chris Finch finishes third in 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year voting

The 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year was announced on Sunday, with Mark Daigneault winning the award. Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch finished third in voting, trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder coach and Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.

Finch led the Timberwolves to a 56-26 record, finishing third in the Western Conference. Minnesota improved their win total by 14 games after finishing 42-40 in 2022-23. Their series sweep over the Phoenix Suns marked their first time advancing past the first round in 20 years, and the first series sweep in franchise history.

Check out the full voting results for the 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year below:

The complete voting results for the 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/QatGZpJjYj

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 28, 2024

Thank you for reading The Dunk Central. Please follow us on Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite teams and players. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing NBA outlets!