It was so much more than a start for Timberwolves' Joe Ingles

Ingles' son, Jacob, got the chance to see his dad start Friday night.

Nolan O'Hara | Mar 22, 2025

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Joe Ingles looks for a pass as he goes out of bounds against the Washington Wizards in the fourth quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 1, 2025. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Timberwolves

When Joe Ingles walked off the court after the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night, Ingles was able to embrace his son, Jacob, who gave him a Timberwolves souvenir and asked if Ingles would take it home.

Jacob, who has autism, hit a milestone during Sunday night's game against the Utah Jazz, making it through an entire NBA game for the first time. The only issue was that Ingles, who's largely been out of the rotation this season, didn't see action.

So Wolves coach Chris Finch made sure Jacob would get the chance to see his dad play, starting him on Friday.

"Sometimes you got to do the human thing," Finch said. "And we always talk about all these minutes matter, and those minutes matter for another reason. But someone put it in my head today as an idea to make sure that (Ingles) can see the floor, and I figured if we're gonna do it, let's do it in style. Guys were behind it, and I think it gave us just the right boost that we needed and change of energy. Not often that you get to do those types of things, but we're really happy that we could."

This season, Ingles' family — wife, Renae, and children Jacob, Milla and Jack — have remained in Orlando, where Ingles played last season. That's because Ingles signed with the Magic with a purpose; there was a school with positive reviews there that they believed would be the best place for Jacob, and he ended up loving the school. There haven't been many opportunities for them to travel to Minnesota, but they've been here for over a week, and then Jacob hit the milestone.

Jacob never used to even want to come to games, and when he did, it was little by little. When Ingles played with the Utah Jazz, he'd come to the games but stay in the family room. Then make it out for half a quarter. Last time his family was in Minnesota, Ingles took Jacob to a Minnesota Wild game, which he was excited about, but it ended up being a quick exit.

"It's the first time we've kind of done it, obviously just with the situation, school and everything that they're doing at their age. So to have them here for 10 days and the (Jazz) game was the first time that he ever watched a whole game," Ingles said. "I think more to the point like, he was nonverbal, we didn't know if he was ever going to speak. ... Just that process of like what he's been through as a kid to get to where he is now ... and he wants to stay and he's having fun and the noise and the lights and all that doesn't affect him as much as what it used to."

Ingles has used these moments to bring awareness to families in similar positions to his. Ingles acknowledged that he's in a position to provide Jacob what he needs, but that hasn't eliminated many of the struggles of his family's day-to-day life.

"It doesn’t take away the meltdowns at the supermarket or like there’s been so many times with my wife where he’s laying on the floor in public, and you can feel people staring at you, you know they’re judging you, you know they’re making comments about it, but they have no idea what he’s going through that day or the night before or the situation," Ingles said. "Ever since he got diagnosed, it’s been what we’ve tried to do with the awareness of like sh*t is real.

"Doesn’t matter who you are or your lifestyle or your money. Like Jacob doesn’t really care that I play basketball like in terms of that, he wants his dad home, and every time I say I’m going to basketball he’s like, ‘Ugh.’ … The awareness, that’s what we try and do is like when there is a kid, try and help. Try and help the mom, try and help the dad. It’s a real thing."

The start provided another opportunity to bring that awareness. Mike Conley gave up his starting spot for Ingles, and the team was wholly behind it. It wasn't something that would have crossed Ingles' mind to ask for, and he didn't expect Finch to offer the start, particularly as the team is in a dogfight in the Western Conference playoff race and had lost two straight.

"The fact that it even crossed his mind shows a lot," Ingles said.

Some things are just bigger than a start.

"It's always important to have perspective," Rudy Gobert said. "... And at the same time, we also knew that (Ingles), like I said, it's not charity. (Ingles) can really have a great impact for our team and compete and bring intensity and make the right play offensively, so we have no doubt about that. So yeah, I thought it was a great gesture from coach."

Ingles can still play basketball, but it's his impact in the locker room this season that's truly been a boon for the Wolves. Every time Finch is asked about leadership, he brings up Ingles, whose season has not exactly gone to expectation. Ingles signed with the Wolves before they traded Karl-Anthony Towns, and at that time, he appeared set for a more pronounced role as perhaps Kyle Anderson's replacement. But when Towns was traded for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, Minnesota had more depth, and Ingles fell out of the rotation. But that's never been something he's been bitter about. He's been a consummate professional each day, bringing joy to his teammates and making a significant impact in the locker room.

"(Ingles has) 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 after the trade, and we're just trying to get all these guys into a rhythm and connectivity and stuff. And he's always been ready, but his voice in the locker room and his presence and his personality on this team, his leadership, has meant everything, particularly for our young guys, so (the start is) the least we could do."

Friday night was a special moment for Ingles, the Wolves and anyone taking it in.

"There's a couple moments that you remember basketball-wise, including medals and doing this and all that, but there's a couple other moments like these things that I'll never forget," Ingles said.

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