When Joan Beringer was taken with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was anticipated that he was a bit of a project player. He seemed to possess loads of potential, particularly on the defensive end. The 6-foot-11 center also turned just 19 years old on November 11 and hasn’t even been playing the sport for all that long.
While he hasn’t played all that much, Beringer has already shown that he doesn’t look out of place on the floor. That is why it’s a bit odd that on Friday, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report has Beringer falling 10 spots to the 27th pick in his 2025 re-draft.
 Beringer has outplayed centers selected before him
What’s strange about the steep fall that Buckley has Beringer go through in the re-draft is that he has nothing but positive things to say about him. Buckley has Beringer going to the Brooklyn Nets at #27 and writes this about the young rookie:
"For Brooklyn's final pick of the first round, it winds up replacing Wolf's theoretical offensive skills with Beringer's more projectable bounce and rim-running. The 19-year-old has quietly crushed it in Minnesota, finishing 67.3 percent of his field goals while posting per-36-minutes marks of 16.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. It's just that many have likely failed to notice, since the Wolves' congestion at center has limited him to fewer than 200 minutes on the season."
Yes, Beringer has only totaled 27 appearances for 181 minutes with Minnesota thus far. Beringer is also playing behind Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid. Gobert remains one of the top defensive big men in the league, Randle was one of the biggest All-Star snubs, and Reid is one of the Sixth Man of the Year favorites.Â
The potential has already been showcased in his brief time on the court, though. From January 13-31, the French big man appeared in all 10 Timberwolves’ games. In the two times he played more than 20 minutes, Beringer totaled 23 points and grabbed nine offensive rebounds. Again, he hasn’t played a lot, but 5.6 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes is pretty darn good.
There is another 19-year-old center that was selected before Beringer and has seen even less time than him. That would be Khaman Maluach, who the Phoenix Suns took 10th overall. Thus far, Maluach has seen action for just 107 minutes (and hasn’t been as productive as Beringer when playing). In Buckley’s re-draft, Maluach drops just two spots to #12.
Another big, Thomas Sorber, tore his ACL in an offseason workout and thus won’t play at all this season. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected him 15th overall, and that’s where he remains in Buckley’s re-draft.
It’s odd that Buckley barely has those two drop (and in Sorber’s case, not at all), but has Beringer undergoing a much longer wait than actually occurred on draft night. I don’t even necessarily have a problem with where Buckley places Maluach and Sorber, but the consistency isn’t there with Beringer. The Timberwolves center has been the best of the three this season and has honestly exceeded expectations entering the year.
When Beringer was drafted, he was expected to be an eventual Gobert replacement. That is still the case, but he is also a more-than-capable fill-in if one of the three main Minnesota frontcourt pieces is forced to miss time. Sooner rather than later, Beringer will put the NBA community on notice; his potential is undeniable.