Timberwolves Select Joan Beringer With the 17th Pick

Tim Connelly took a swing on the biggest project of the draft in a display of gorilla nuts that hasn’t been seen since David Kahn.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made their first round draft selection, picking Joan Beringer from France with the 17th pick of the NBA draft. Let’s take a look at who he is and what to expect.

Who is Joan Beringer?

Joan Beringer is the biggest project of the 2025 NBA draft. No question about it. He still just 18 years old and does not turn 19 until November 11th. Not only is he just young in age, but he is young in experience. If you haven’t heard this by now, he has only been playing basketball since 2021. He was still just 14 going on 15. That means he’s held a basketball in his hands for only three to four years.

Beringer grew up in Sélestat, France and primarily playing soccer. Once he got involved in basketball, he learned so quickly that it surprised many international scouts. He most recently play for KK Cedevita Olimpija in he Adriatic league, averaging 5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks in about 18 minutes per game on 59.6% from the field and 56.5% from the line. That’s 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per 36 minutes.

Fit on the Timberwolves

Beringer is a nasty athlete and has a great feel for where he is on the floor. He’s extremely quick and would help the Wolves both in defending the rim and getting out and running in transition.

If he’s asked to do only a couple things early in his career that can be a product of his athleticism, he can thrive. He’ll just have to be brought up to the speed of the NBA game slowly.

Think of him as someone in a similar current spot as Leonard Miller and can help push his current development along; a project big that has high upside and won’t see the floor often.

What we wrote in one of our previews that had Beringer in it:

Beringer might not see the floor in a NBA game within the next two years thus he might not push Miller’s development. He’s certainly a project.

However, the Frenchman is a nasty athlete and very, very good at running the floor in a way that would compliment a stretch big like Naz Reid in his current state. Scouting reports rave about Beringer’s catch radius as well, making him and ideal pick-and-roll partner to Anthony Edwards, who doesn’t always trust the roll currently.

Beringer is total lottery ticket, but it can be nice to always have one of those guys in the hopper. If he develops, it would be an incredibly profitable option for a Wolves team that doesn’t play nearly as fast as it should.

Projected Role

It’s likely that Beringer only sees the floor this season if the Wolves are blowing a team out or things have gone horribly wrong. Dane Moore reported that the 18-year-old would not be a “draft-and-stash,” but spend time stateside either in Minnesota or Iowa.

That said, who better to learn from than one of the most accomplished defensive players to have ever played in the NBA, who also happens to speak the same language as him? Beringer is going to soak in knowledge from Rudy Gobert to be his heir apparent. The two have spoken at length before and have already touched base after the draft.

Imagine a Gobert who’s springier, and has better hands, running pick-and-rolls with Rob Dillingham. That is the vision here. It might take a couple years, but this future duo is tantalizing.

(Much of his post draft press conference was conducted in French, so click on the gear icon and select English translation on the CC/Subtitles option on YouTube.)