Unlike any other regular season game, Friday night in Minneapolis held special significance for Joe Ingles and his family. The evolution of Target Center The Minnesota Timberwolves home game against the New Orleans Pelicans was a preview of the changes. Autism acceptance This game was significant to Joe’s son, Jacob Ingles, who has autism. The good news is that earlier this week, Jacob truly did make history. To experience it with his entire family in person, that’s something we’ll always cherish,” said the Ingles family.
Joe Ingles, in his first start since January 30, 2022, played just six minutes and went scoreless. The night wasn’t about stats—it was filled with moments beyond the box score. Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch did his part to get the show on the road by getting Joe Ingles into the starting lineup. The decision came after that proposal had first been proposed to Finch earlier on Friday.
"And I figured if we're going to do it, let's do it in style," Finch stated emotionally after the game.
From there the Timberwolves would cruise to a 134-93 win against the Pelicans. Jacob Ingles, who came to the event with his mom and two siblings. Without his father’s larger-than-life presence on the court, they strangled their hopes for freedom by silencing dreams.
"It's not often you get to do those types of things, but we're really happy that we could," Joe Ingles commented post-game.
The evening proved to be a memorable one for the Ingles family, and their journey to bring greater awareness of autism is just beginning. Joe Ingles has been a very strong advocate for helping everyone understand the needs and realities that families with autism are facing.
"We'll keep doing what we do. The awareness, and we'll keep doing whatever 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 situations we're in. All we can do is talk about it. And then obviously for us, give Jacob the best chance to fit in in this crazy world that we're in," Joe Ingles expressed.
The night honored the legacy of moments outside the game. It did bring attention to the powerful personal story told by the Ingles family.
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