Tim Lewis returns to Timberwolves as season tips off aiming for NBA title

Tim Lewis, the Welsh-born assistant coach, has rejoined the Minnesota Timberwolves as the NBA season tips off, aiming to help the franchise win its first NBA championship. The appointment places Lewis back in an expanded coaching role on Chris Finch’s staff ahead of the new campaign.

Born in Saint Asaph, Wales, Lewis represented his country in the 1990s before building a global coaching résumé that includes posts with the Thailand and Qatar national teams and spells in Germany, Belgium, Canada, the United States and Panama. He most recently coached in Japan with the Eneos Sunflowers, whom he helped to the Empress Cup in January, and he has spent more than 15 years coaching England and Great Britain age groups. Lewis served as an assistant to Minnesota head coach Chris Finch at the London 2012 Olympics and worked alongside Nick Nurse as one of the Team GB assistants.

Lewis described a long-standing relationship with Finch that stretches back to their playing and early coaching days. "We played against each other when I was back at [Crystal] Palace and Chris was at Sheffield [Sharks]," he said. "I've had stops with Chris when he was in Belgium and then before the Olympics, I spent six months at Houston with him. "We've become close, it's almost like brothers. We've known each other 25 years and it's a strong bond." Finch persuaded Lewis to return after a previous brief spell with Minnesota and three years as a head coach in Japan.

His role on the Timberwolves staff has expanded into a full assistant position with responsibility for offensive game planning and some player development work. "Pablo [Prigioni] is going to take the lead on the offence and my role will be to help create some of these game plans offensively," Lewis said. "It's a full assistant's role with responsibility for offensive game planning. "I look at what the other team are doing defensively and what can we do to maximise our ability to beat them offensively. "On top of that, some player development with a couple of the young bigs." Earlier, during the Covid period, Lewis worked as a replacement coach with the Iowa Wolves and later took charge of post-game analysis for Minnesota.

Minnesota’s backcourt now pairs Anthony Edwards with LaMelo Ball following a July four-team trade that brought Ball and Josh Green to the Timberwolves. Edwards and LaMelo were the 1st and 3rd picks in the 2020 NBA draft, and Ball made 272 three-point shots in the 2025-26 season, the second most of any player in the NBA. Lewis said the pairing offers new offensive options: "Anthony and LaMelo and those guys are going to be exciting to watch," he said. "With LaMelo, you've got somebody that can now throw the lob and Rudy becomes a bit more of a rim threat, which we haven't necessarily had. "It takes the pressure off Anthony. "Teams will find it harder to double-team him when you've got people like LaMelo on the floor with him." Lewis added that Edwards is "easy to coach" and called him "an immense talent, very responsive, a great kid overall and he's a great person, very coachable and wants to get better."

The Timberwolves' 2026 playoff run ended when they lost 4-2 to San Antonio in the Western Conference semi-finals, a result Lewis and the staff will seek to improve on. He acknowledged roster concerns at the four and the physicality of opponents, saying: "Everybody's worried we don't have size at the four, but Chris [Finch] will figure out how that looks." He also stressed roster versatility: "One of the things Minnesota's going to be lucky to do is be able to play different ways and the team's going to be exciting to watch."

Lewis set clear targets for the campaign and offered thoughts on potential title contenders. "We want to make the play-offs and get to the championship games, everybody wants to win a championship, but you've got 29 other teams that are trying to do the same thing," he said. "Fifty-plus wins a season is what you want, that puts you in a great position to make the play-offs and to be a contender for that first seed. "You don't ever want to jinx it but everybody's saying this team has an opportunity to go a long way this year, but you never know, we've been close every year. "Teams are going to have to adjust to the way Minnesota plays and the personnel we have." On the wider title race he added: "It's one of the things about the NBA at the moment, it's somewhat unpredictable. "Teams that maybe surge in the regular season but aren't built to compete in the playoffs. "San Antonio could be that team, Minnesota could be that team. "We've had Denver's number now for a number of years, other than the year they won it [2023]. "Who knows what Philly's going to do with the additions they've made."

Minnesota open their season against Giannis Antentokounmpo and the Miami Heat, followed by games against Orlando and Toronto, with Lewis and the coaching staff targeting a run toward an NBA title in 2027. Lewis said an NBA championship would carry deep significance for the city: "Minnesota fans are unbelievable," he said. "It goes way back to Minneapolis Lakers [1947-1960] that are now the Los Angeles Lakers, who did win a championship. "As an organisation, being able to win in that environment against a bigger market team is always a huge success. "It's more for the city, it would be an amazing accomplishment."