It was unclear how well Joan Beringer would perform in an expanded role for the Minnesota Timberwolves in his second season. Many fans believed he could handle it, but it still needed to be seen. Beringer is still 19 for another week and has only played the sport for a few years.
Over seven games, Beringer has had his occasional lumps — including one start against Victor Wembanyama — but for the most part, he has handled the increased minutes well. The 2025 first-round pick has been best on the offensive glass. While the season is just two weeks old, he’s arguably been the league's best offensive rebounder, which benefits the Timberwolves greatly.
Joan Beringer is owning the offensive glass for the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota’s opponents have had hard luck trying to keep Beringer from crashing the glass and giving the Wolves second chances. So far, it’s been a challenge none of the Wolves' opponents have figured out outside of the Toronto Raptors, who held Beringer without an offensive rebound in an Oct. 25 game the Timberwolves won 117-94.
In the other seven games, the now 7-footer has grabbed at least two offensive rebounds. In six of them, he’s had three or more.
Beringer isn't playing huge minutes either, as only his start against the San Antonio Spurs saw him play more than 20. Playing 18.1 minutes per game, Beringer is averaging an astounding 3.8 offensive rebounds. That’s 7.5 per 36 minutes. As a rookie, he was very good, averaging 5.2 per 36 minutes, but he’s taken it to another level this season.
With Anthony Edwards out of the lineup, it’s even more important to get those second, and sometimes third, chances to get buckets. The Timberwolves have a 114.0 offensive rating in the four games since Edwards has been sidelined, down from 117.3 in the four games with him. It hasn’t been a huge dip, but there will be nights without Ant-Man where scoring is at a premium.
Beringer is averaging just shy of three second-chance points per game. With Rudy Gobert struggling offensively, it’s been nice to see one of the bigs finish more often near the basket.
Joan Beringer continued to clean the glass against the Milwaukee Bucks
On Monday, the Bucks couldn’t contain Beringer on the offensive glass. Beringer finished with six in around 14 minutes of play.
But Minnesota didn’t fully capitalize on his offensive rebounding prowess. Beringer missed a few tip-ins before throwing down a dunk off a miss with around eight minutes remaining.
Still, it can be demoralizing for another team to be unable to stop a player from constantly giving his team numerous opportunities to score. It can also tire opponents whose main focus is keeping Beringer off the offensive glass.
The skill has helped players such as Mitchell Robinson and Steven Adams get paid. That will likely happen for Beringer in the future, but for now, it’s been fun watching him be one of the NBA's best offensive rebounders.
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