Minnesota Timberwolves forward Joe Ingles started in his first game in over three years and for the first time in front of his autistic son.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch started the 37-year-old to ensure his son Jacob saw him play.
Although Ingles was scoreless in a 134-93 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the gesture meant so much to the veteran and his family.
The Athletic reported that Ingles had his wife, Renae, and their three children in attendance after they spent the entire season in Orlando, where he played last season.
Jacob attended a Timberwolves game earlier this week. However, his father did not get to step on the court. Therefore, Finch made sure to give Ingles minutes on Friday.
‘Sometimes you’ve got to do the human thing,’ Finch said, according to the site. ‘We always talk about, ‘All these minutes matter,’ and those minutes mattered for another reason.’
NBA veteran Joe Ingles started for the Timberwolves in front of his autistic son Jacob
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‘Someone put it in my head as an idea to make sure Joe can see the floor and I figured if we’re going to do it, let’s do it in style,’ Finch said. ‘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.’
Ingles is in his 11th season in the NBA after eight campaigns with the Utah Jazz.
Having played in 19 games this season, Ingles took the opportunity to raise awareness about autism.
‘This s*** is real,’ Ingles said of his son’s condition. ‘It doesn’t matter who you are or your lifestyle, your money, whatever. Jacob doesn’t really care I play basketball… He wants his dad home and every time I say I’m going to play basketball, he’s like ‘Ughhh.’ Which I’m sure a lot of kids — it’s not just me obviously.’
‘We’ll keep doing what we do,’ Ingles said. ‘We’ll keep pushing the awareness and doing what we can to help other families, but I think people just need to understand this is a real thing. It doesn’t go away with money.’
‘It doesn’t go away with the situation that you’re in. All we can do is talk about and obviously for us, give Jacob the best chance to fit in this kind of crazy world that we’re in.’
