When the Timberwolves selected Joan Beringer with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it was expected that it was more of a long-term play. The 6-foot-11 Frenchman hasn’t even been playing the sport all that long, and he turns just 19 on November 6.
Minnesota has prided themselves on being a top defensive team since acquiring Rudy Gobert. Drafting Beringer was seen as him eventually becoming the successor to the 33-year-old Gobert at center, with much of Beringer's potential being someone who can make a huge defensive impact.
With the team really struggling on defense for their first five outings, it might be time to see what the young rookie can do on the court.
Beringer has yet to play any meaningful minutes
In five games played by the Timberwolves, Beringer has appeared in just two of them for a total of seven minutes. All of his action has come in the fourth quarter after Minnesota had waved the white flag.
Even if it’s for a short stint, it’s time to see what Beringer can do when the game isn’t out of reach. The most surprising part of Minnesota’s 2-3 start is the team’s overall effort on defense. They currently rank 27th with a 119.5 defensive rating. The only three teams worse are the Wizards, Pelicans, and Nets.
It was just two years ago when the Timberwolves had the best defensive rating in the NBA in 2023-24. We all saw glimpses of Beringer’s defensive potential in the summer league and preseason. Do all three of Mike Conley, Rob Dillingham, and Bones Hyland need to play?
Obviously, they play a different position than Beringer, but he could take a spot in the rotation over one of those three, particularly because the team needs to find its defensive identity.
Defensive woes without Gobert
It’s been a slow start for Gobert in 2025-26 in what is his 13th season in the league. A nightly double-double player for much of his career, he has just one thus far. Gobert is also only attempting five shots per contest, down from the 7.7 in his first three years with the Wolves.
Now, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year still provides elite rim protection. The defense falls off a cliff when he takes a breather (133.3 defensive rating off court, 111.6 on). Offense? It’s been a polar opposite effect for Minnesota as it has improved by leaps and bounds when Gobert exits (121.1 offensive rating off court, 107.7 on).
Beringer would probably be as much of a low-usage player on offense as Gobert has been. Playing with him more offensive-minded pieces like Naz Reid and Terrence Shannon Jr. (although the latter has experienced recent difficulties on that end) can help him focus on the main reason he was selected in the first round.
Maybe Beringer shows Chris Finch that he’s not yet ready for meaningful minutes if inserted into the rotation. Or, maybe he shows that he can be part of the solution to the defense not becoming a sieve when Gobert is not on the court. The Timberwolves might as well find out which of the two it will be.