Joan Beringer Offers Exciting Upside for Timberwolves

At the 2025 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves made the surprise move to select a center, grabbing Joan Beringer of Cedevita Olimpija at No. 17.

At 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, Beringer is a highly developmental center prospect, seeing a fairly raw game right now on both ends. But it wasn’t unpopular in the pre-draft cycle to hear him named as the potential best big in the class.

He’s highly mobile, able to magnetize towards lobs and finish with authority inside. On defense, he can swallow up ground and make plays with long arms with consistency.

The thought process is extremely clear in Minnesota’s selection of Beringer: he’ll be expected to replace Rudy Gobert when the time comes for the all-time defender and the team to part.

Gobert’s been vital in the team’s best two-year stretch in franchise history, making the Western Conference Finals in each of the last two seasons. Despite the organization somewhat overpaying for the center in nabbing him from the Jazz years ago, its certainly paid off in the form of rim protection and interior presence.

Still, Gobert and the Wolves won’t be married forever. And his making upwards of $35 million per year is somewhat crippling to the team’s flexibility. But Gobert's archetype alongside budding superstar Anthony Edwards has proven to be mightily effective over the last several years.

Enter Beringer. While he won’t be expected to completely replace Gobert’s impact, he’ll certainly add a hopefully similar body than can get easy offense inside, and disrupt around the rim.

As mentioned, Beringer will certainly need a few seasons of development. But should be an easy plug-and-play prospect to slot in next to Edwards for years to come. There's certainly no guarantee he'll make an impact as a rookie, but will undoubtedly play some spot minutes in Minnesota's frontcourt rotation.