2 Minnesota Timberwolves players, head coach Chris Finch named finalists for NBA awards
MINNEAPOLIS — After one of the best seasons in franchise history, two Minnesota Timberwolves players and head coach Chris Finch are finalists for major NBA awards.
The league announced the finalists Sunday. Rudy Gobert is up for Defensive Player of the Year, Naz Reid is a candidate for Sixth Man of the Year and Finch is a finalist for Coach of the Year.
The Wolves' 56-26 regular season record is the second-best in franchise history, behind only the 2003 team that went to the Western Conference finals. They earned the No. 3 seed in the West.
Finch is up against Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley for the award.
Gobert is the anchor of the Wolves' league-leading defense. The team was first in defensive rating and opponent points per game in the regular season. Gobert averaged 2.1 blocks and 9.2 defensive rebounds a game. He's won Defensive Player of the Year three times before.
The Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama are the other Defensive Player of the Year finalists.
Reid, who signed a contract extension with the Wolves last offseason, had the best year of his career, setting new highs in average minutes played (24.2) and points per game (13.5). He also filled in admirably when Karl-Anthony Towns missed several games with a knee injury.
Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings and Bobby Portis Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks are also finalists for Sixth Man of the Year.
The Wolves are up one game on the Phoenix Suns in the opening round of the playoffs. Anthony Edwards' 33 points led them to a 120-95 win on Saturday.