In the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career on Tuesday, Joan Beringer didn’t disappoint. He finished with 13 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes. Selected 17th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-11 center received action due to Rudy Gobert being suspended for a game (and Anthony Edwards also being sidelined).
Gobert returned on Friday, but Edwards sat out his second outing in a row. While Beringer did see action, the game didn’t necessarily portend that he would remain part of the rotation.
Beringer saw minimal action on Friday
Winners of six of their last seven contests entering Friday, the Timberwolves fell to the Houston Rockets by the score of 108-103. The 19-year-old Beringer saw just 6:33 of game action in the loss. The rookie wasn’t nearly as impactful as he was in the previous game, missing his one field goal attempt, going scoreless, and grabbing one rebound. Beringer received brief, approximately three-minute stints at the end of the first and third quarters.
For much of the season, Chris Finch has gone with a nine-man rotation. That is what he did on Friday, although Beringer saw minimal time. If Edwards were to return for Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs (listed as questionable), there’s a good chance that the French big man would again be out of the rotation.
Finch could also want to see Terrence Shannon Jr. receive some minutes upon his return. The second-year player has missed the last 11 games with a left foot injury. The lack of bench production on Friday (25 of 27 points scored by Naz Reid) has been a theme at times this season, and Shannon Jr. is certainly a more natural scorer than Beringer.
Finch believes he will not return to Iowa in the G League
Jace Frederick of The St. Paul Pioneer Press provided a quote by Finch prior to Friday’s game that makes Beringer's return to the G League seem unlikely.
"He’s probably not done going back to Iowa.”
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) January 15, 2026
Chris Finch loves what Joan Beringer brings to the floor. But finding him minutes with 3 established bigs who don't miss games is difficult
And Minnesota knows the 19 year old needs playing time to develop https://t.co/JarFDORGea
Finch is, of course, referring to the Iowa Wolves of the G League. Beringer first spent time on their roster in December, during which he saw action in seven games. It’s an opportunity for him to receive extended playing time that he won’t yet receive in the NBA.
As long as Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid stay in the lineup (Gobert’s one-game suspension was the first outing any of them have missed), minutes for Beringer will continue to be hard to find.