Joe Ingles has been a true pro in season that hasn't gone according to expectation

Ingles has been the 'first one off the bench cheering for guys' and the 'life of the party' all season long.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Joe Ingles (7) works around Washington Wizards guard Corey Kispert in the second quarter at Target Center in Minneapolis on Feb. 1, 2025. / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Things have changed quite a bit since Joe Ingles signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in July.

When Ingles signed his one-year deal with the Timberwolves, he was joining a team coming off a Western Conference finals appearance that was set to return its entire starting five and two of its key reserves. They did lose Kyle Anderson in free agency, but on paper, it looked like Anderson's role was the void Ingles would be filling as a likely main rotation stay.

Everything changed shortly before training camp when the Wolves dealt Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks and brought in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. That brought two new faces into the fold, and while Ingles got sparing minutes early in the season, the rotation was held mostly to eight for a while as coach Chris Finch worked to integrate the new pieces into the lineup. Ingles almost fell out of the rotation entirely, save for the occasional late-game inbounds pass.

"When I signed it was a different team," Ingles said. "... I've been around enough to understand what kind of happened, and maybe (the role) would've been bigger with KAT here, maybe not. You never know. Like I said, I'm never, at this point in my career, going to kind of f*ck up the vibe of the team because of me. I do my stuff; I make sure I stay ready."

Playing severely short-handed Saturday without Anthony Edwards (illness), Randle (groin) and DiVincenzo (toe) on a night the Wolves also lost Naz Reid (finger), Ingles got his longest run of the season. Ingles played a season-high 20 minutes, including nearly all of the fourth quarter, scored his first points of the season and ultimately finished with 10 points, three assists, a rebound and a steal and had a team-best plus-minus of plus-11 in a 105-103 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Jumping in cold, Ingles had to be a driver of the offense Saturday night with Edwards and Randle sidelined. Finch was having Ingles run pick-and-rolls, something "that's just so natural to him," and Ingles fit in pretty seamlessly, particularly alongside his former Utah Jazz teammates Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert. Included in Ingles' fourth-quarter minutes were him getting to the paint for a floater, delivering a perfect pass to an open Jaden McDaniels under the hoop for a layup and getting a steal and finding Gobert on the other end for a dunk. His lone black mark was his four turnovers in the game.

"It was great to see (Ingles) out there. Happy to see him play well," Conley said. "You can tell we have chemistry when he's out there. His chemistry with (Gobert), his playmaking ability, his shooting and the way he can stretch the floor. He's one of the smarter players I've ever played with, so it's good to have another guy out there like that who can think the game at his level. With guys out, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of him and some other guys get more opportunities."

Injuries are adding up for the Wolves. DiVincenzo's turf toe injury will not require surgery, but he still won't be re-evaluated for another two weeks. There's no timeline yet for Randle, but Finch made it evident he'll be out several games. There wasn't an immediate update on Reid, but Saturday's game wasn't the first time in recent weeks he's taken a beating.

The injuries are leading to opportunities for young guys like Rob Dillingham, Luka Garza and Jaylen Clark, but also giving Ingles a chance to make his first real impact this season. Despite coming in cold, it was Ingles who Finch elected to go with down the stretch Saturday over Dillingham and Garza, whose second-half performances were not liked by the coach.

Despite the season not quite being what Ingles expected, by all accounts, he's been a consummate professional.

"He's a pro. He hasn't missed a beat, he comes in every day, he does his work," Conley said. "The most impressive thing is he's the first one off the bench cheering for guys. He's being the life of the party no matter what the situation is for us, so it takes a lot to do that when you're as competitive as he is and as much as he wants to be on the court."

Between the mounting injuries and the way Ingles played Saturday night, there's likely an opportunity for him to play meaningful minutes in the immediate future. And even if there's not, no matter what, Ingles will handle things like a pro.

"I felt like at some point there would be an opportunity, whether that be coach deciding or with injuries," Ingles said. "That's kind of the way the NBA is, so I was always going to be ready. I've done everything I had to do in terms of that to stay ready, and I knew when I got that opportunity, I got to do what I've done for the 11 years I'm here. I felt good. Obviously, if that opportunity comes, I'll keep building on it, and if it doesn't, I'll be right there for the guys."