After the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves knocked out the third-seeded Denver Nuggets, the head coach, Chris Finch, took some time to admit he made a mistake during his postgame press conference.
When discussing Terrence Shannon Jr. Finch explained his “silly” decisions, which were consistent throughout the season, having the ball out of Shannon’s hands.
“We’ve learned with TJ, he’s gotta have the ball in his hands. Silly me, we played him out of the corner most of the season, but he’s way better with the ball in his hands at the top of the floor,” said Finch.
It’s not every day a head coach for any sport at any level can publicly admit mistakes like that. For that, the NFL legend Kurt Warner is impressed.
Kurt Warner Praises Chris Finch’s Quote
via Kurt Warner on X: Amen… instead of pointing at player for not being effective enough in a bad position, actually realizing much of that was due to you not presenting them with a plan/position to be successful! Wow, so refreshing after what I’ve witnessed over the last year! Extreme Leadership = ALWAYS looking internally FIRST to say “What Could I have done better or differently”!!
The Timberwolves rolled out the sophomore guard for 43 games this season. He saw the court for 12.5 minutes per game. Shannon posted averages of 5.6 points, while shooting 45.0% from the field and hitting on 40.8% of his threes.
In the playoffs, Shannon started with three-straight DNPs. The second-year guard had a seven-minute shift in Game 4, followed by 13 minutes in Game 5. Then in Game 6, he played for 34 minutes.
With more playing time came a 24-point showing from the second-year guard. Shannon helped an undermanned Timberwolves team defeat the Denver Nuggets for good.
To Warner’s point, the Timberwolves’ coach is showing great leadership not only by praising Shannon for his efforts, but by making it clear he could’ve found this kind of success all along.