Anthony Edwards and Chris Finch have built one of the NBA’s most combustible relationships, and that’s exactly why it works.
The latest flashpoint came Feb. 26 on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers. Edwards dribbled 20 times, slid left, and launched a three-pointer over two defenders while Minnesota held a one-point lead in the final seconds.
Finch had been barking at him to move the ball on the previous possession. Edwards ignored that plea, buried the side-step three to push the Timberwolves ahead 92-88 with 31 seconds left, then spun around and yelled in Finch’s face.
The clip took off online, where plenty of people treated it like a sign of real friction between star and coach. Inside Minnesota, it read differently. It looked like two intense competitors doing what intense competitors do.
“We both just go on with our lives,” Finch said on the Road Trippin’ Show at the Summer League. “It doesn’t matter.”
Finch said Edwards texted him a few days later after seeing the play go viral and apologizing for the outburst.
“I said, ‘Dude, we’re past this, you don’t have to apologize to me,’” Finch said. “We are both fiery, and the beauty of him is he is so real, and he takes this challenge, and it's when he is at his best.”
That’s the thread running through their partnership. Edwards brings the heat on the court, shouting after big plays and letting everyone hear it.
Finch is typically more restrained on the sideline, hands in his pockets, until the game or the officiating pushes him over the edge. But according to people around the team, he’s just as fiery underneath it all, especially in practice.
“They go at it. Honestly, they do.
They go at it,” Mike Conley told Chris Hine last year. “They have days where they’re getting ready to fight, and then after the game they hug each other.
Finchy apologizes, or just says, ‘Man, I just got caught up.’ Ant’s the same way: ‘Like, man, you’re right.
I got caught up too.’”
Finch arrived in Minnesota 31 games into Edwards’ rookie season in 2021, and it took about a year for the two to truly trust each other. Since then, the relationship has settled into something more durable: direct, blunt, and rooted in mutual respect.
Edwards doesn’t always like what Finch says, and he makes that clear. Finch still wants what’s best for him.
And Edwards, for his part, respects the voice telling him.
Even the harsh exchanges tend to pass quickly. Both men know the words flying in the moment aren’t personal, and both are willing to circle back once the emotion fades.
Finch, now the fifth-longest tenured head coach with one team in the NBA, has clearly learned how to handle Edwards - when to push, when to back off, and when to own it if he goes too far. He admitted on the same podcast that his biggest regret with Edwards came after Minnesota’s Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2025 playoffs, when he criticized Edwards for a poor scoring night.
“It was definitely unnecessary,” Finch said. “I know he was a little bit hurt by it.
But he takes all that coaching and criticism well. I think that point in time, [what I said] was not needed.
But he woke up; he was great the rest of the series."
That kind of public honesty says plenty about Finch’s investment in Edwards and in the job overall. It also helps explain why Minnesota has reached five playoff appearances under him.
Edwards’ talent is obviously a huge piece of that. But his rise has also been shaped by having a coach who can challenge him without losing him.
The Wolves still have maturity questions to answer, and Finch’s old-school style has not solved everything. But the issue looks more tied to the personalities in the locker room than to Finch himself.
That dynamic matters even more now, with LaMelo Ball joining a new personality mix and Finch trying to keep the group pointed in the right direction. His contract runs through the next two seasons, and an extension could come during the 2026-27 season.
In the NBA, that kind of runway never feels guaranteed for long. One rough month can change everything.
For now, though, Edwards and Finch have something that coaches and stars rarely manage: a working relationship that can absorb the heat. They argue, they yell, they apologize, and they keep moving. That edge has helped both grow, and it has given Minnesota a foundation it can actually build on.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards Knows What Could Make Or Break These New Wolves
The Timberwolves spent the offseason reshaping a roster that fell short in the second round, and the biggest adjustment is the one Anthony Edwards knows will take time. Minnesota is now trying to integrate LaMelo Ball alongside Edwards in the backcourt, a pairing that gives the Wolves more creativity but also puts a premium on trust, timing and the kind of on-court comfort that does not arrive overnight.
Edwards has made clear that chemistry will matter just as much as talent if this group wants to push beyond where it stopped last spring. The Wolves still have roster questions to sort out, including at power forward, and there is a growing sense that Minnesota wants to be careful about how it fills the gaps around its new core rather than chase a quick fix that might not fit the bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Schedule Sets Up The Ultimate Test For Their New-Look Roster
The Timberwolves will get a fast early read on their new-look roster when the schedule starts steering them toward a handful of measuring-stick games. Minnesotas upcoming slate includes matchups with the Spurs, Nuggets, Thunder, Knicks and Lakers, a stretch that touches both the Wests established powers and a few teams with enough talent to make any night uncomfortable. After the playoff push that has shaped the franchises recent goals, these are the kinds of games that should tell the Wolves whether the group is built to simply compete or to make a deeper statement.
The dates attached to those matchups give the season a clear rhythm, and each one carries its own kind of pressure. Denver and Oklahoma City remain the most obvious benchmarks in the conference, while the Knicks and Lakers bring the sort of national-stage attention that tends to follow Minnesota when expectations rise. With LaMelo Ball now part of the equation, the Wolves have even more reason to treat these nights as early checkpoints, because the real test is not just talent on paper but how quickly the pieces start fitting together when the calendar gets demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga's Free Agency Just Got More Interesting For Warriors Fans
Jonathan Kumingas lingering free agency has started to feel like one of those offseason storylines that could shift a few depth charts at once, and Minnesota has quietly become part of the conversation. The Timberwolves are among the teams showing interest, with a possible opening at starting power forward after recent departures, which makes Kuminga a plausible fit for a group that still has a clear need to shore up its frontcourt.
For Wolves fans, the appeal is obvious: a young, athletic forward who could plug into a starting role and add another layer to the rotation. But this one may come down to the usual free-agency tradeoffs, with contract terms and team fit shaping the decision as the Lakers and Cavaliers remain in the mix. [Read more 🡒]