Patriots

Bill Belichick was courtside at the Timberwolves-Bucks game

By Nicole Yang

Three days before Super Bowl LII, Bill Belichick was spotted at the Target Center to catch Thursday night’s contest between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Patriots coach and longtime girlfriend Linda Holliday had courtside seats to watch NBA All-Stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was also in the building to catch the action.

Luther Overholt, a Timberwolves fan seated behind Belichick, told Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion that he was surprised to see the 65-year-old coach in attendance. After all, the Patriots are in the midst of preparations for a very important game against the Eagles.

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“I thought he had something better to do,” the fan said.

Belichick’s attendance may have had something to do with his connection to Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau — who spent three seasons in Boston as an assistant coach. Thibodeau has publicly expressed his admiration for Belichick on multiple occasions.

“I don’t know that there’s a better football coach out there,” he told the Chicago Tribune‘s David Haugh in 2014. “He has won for so long. He’s special. To me, he’s the all-time best.”

Thibodeau, along with former MLB manager Tony La Russa, attended Patriots training camp in 2012. Belichick hosted the pair for New England’s last organized team activity (OTA) of the preseason.

“A lot of times you can read a book or see their games on TV, but when you watch practice and get to sit in on meetings you have a great understanding of why they’re so successful,” Thibodeau told Haugh. “It wasn’t any one thing he did. It was everything. Little things mattered. You could see his great connection with Tom Brady. It was the last OTA and he was demanding, clear and concise. I was amazed how many passes Brady threw, how hard the team practiced. So much precision.”

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