Joan Beringer has gone from a 7.9-minute rookie to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ clear backup center

Joan Beringer has gone from a 7.9-minute rookie to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ clear backup center, and his performance in a 112-110 win over the Milwaukee Bucks showed why: five offensive rebounds, heavy defensive activity and several convincing sequences on defensive switches, BeBasket reported. The 19-year-old’s growing role under coach Chris Finch is no accident — it is the product of offseason roster moves that cleared the frontcourt behind Rudy Gobert and a rebounding mentality that his coach says sets Beringer apart.

The numbers tell the leap. After playing 40 games as a rookie in 2025-26, Beringer is averaging 18.1 minutes per game this season, according to BeBasket, with 6.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists. Dicodusport.fr reported that the Wolves’ front office made deliberate choices this summer: Naz Reid was traded in the deal that brought LaMelo Ball to Minnesota, Julius Randle’s contract was moved to extend Ayo Dosunmu, and no frontcourt player of note was signed. Behind the untouchable Gobert, that made Beringer the Frenchman’s understudy — forming, as dicodusport.fr put it, a 100% French frontcourt duo. Finch has confirmed the young center holds that role, even with Rocco Zikarsky and veteran Trey Lyles also on the roster.

French players lead the NBA in offensive rebounding

Beringer’s calling card is the offensive glass. Standing 2.13 meters with long arms and bounce, the Sélestat, Alsace native ranks third in the league in offensive rebounds this season with 30, BeBasket reported. The top of that leaderboard is a French affair: Moussa Diabaté leads with 43, and Gobert, 34, is fifth with 28.

Finch put the skill in plain terms. “He goes after every single rebound,” the coach said, per BeBasket. “I think it all starts there. If you want to be a good offensive rebounder, you have to go for it every time.”

“Joan Beringer is the league’s best per possession offensive rebounder. And he does so with a bunch of craft, but also by just wanting the ball more than anybody else.”

— Jake Paynting, NBA analyst, on X, Nov. 4, 2026

Beringer’s willingness to do the unglamorous work was visible against Milwaukee. BeBasket described his ability to snatch balls in traffic among several players and his capacity to string together multiple jumps — but singled out his mentality as the key: he wants those rebounds. That determination creates second chances and has made him a growing force in Minnesota’s collective.

“Timberwolves rookie Joan Beringer 13 PTS (6-7 FG), 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, +30 (+/-) in 30 minutes vs. Bucks. I’m convinced every team has a nice rookie.”

— Role Player Performances, on X, Jan. 14, 2026

A five-year basketball career that began in Alsace

Beringer’s path to the NBA is unusual even by modern standards. Dicodusport.fr reported that he will turn 20 in November and started playing basketball only five years ago. That rapid trajectory took him from local courts in Alsace to European competition with Ljubljana, where he established himself as a solid defender, and then to the 2025 NBA Draft, where Minnesota selected him 17th overall.

The rookie season was, by design, an adjustment year. Dicodusport.fr noted that Beringer had to adapt to the North American game while battling fierce competition in Minnesota’s frontcourt — Gobert, Reid and Randle all ahead of him. He played 40 regular-season games but averaged just 7.9 minutes, producing 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds, and got a taste of the playoffs in garbage-time appearances. The front office, however, believed in the raw potential. The problem to polish, per dicodusport.fr, was mainly offensive impact near the rim.

His new role showed promise even before the season. In five preseason games, he averaged 7.8 points, dicodusport.fr reported. Beringer himself acknowledged the weight of the job, telling the MinnPost: “You have to understand that, as with all young players, there will be irregularity.”

Finch and Dosunmu on the 19-year-old’s mentality

The coach is not the only one in Minnesota’s building who rates the Frenchman. Ayo Dosunmu, the 26-year-old guard, praised Beringer’s progress and coachability. “He keeps learning and wants to get better,” Dosunmu said, per BeBasket. “He has that little something extra, this will to become the best. He takes responsibility, and that’s something I love about him. He learns quickly.”

Dosunmu also pointed to Beringer’s ability to absorb the staff’s teaching. “When you watch film with him, or see him working with the coaches, he’s able to apply very quickly in games what he learns,” the guard said. Then came the summary: “His potential is limitless.”

Dosunmu added that at 19, Beringer is still young but is accumulating experience and playing time, doing very good work, progressing every game — “and I’m proud of him,” the guard said, per BeBasket.

Gobert’s succession in Minnesota

Still in a learning phase, Beringer appears to have found in Minnesota an environment built for his development: the coach’s trust, veteran frontcourt teammates in Gobert and Lyles, and creators like Ball and Anthony Edwards feeding him usable possessions. With Gobert now 34, BeBasket concluded that the succession at center in Minneapolis looks assured — with a new Frenchman full of quality in the paint.

The next checkpoint is the Wolves’ regular-season slate, where Beringer’s minute load and rebounding numbers will show whether the 18.1-minute average holds as the rotation tightens.

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