Joan Beringer is a little bigger than he was on draft night, and for the Timberwolves, that matters.
Minnesota took Beringer with the 17th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft knowing full well they were betting on a raw youngster. He was still about 3.5 months shy of his 19th birthday at the time, and a lot of the appeal came from projecting what he might become rather than what he already was.
That projection has already shifted. The Timberwolves listed Beringer at 7 feet on their opening-night roster Monday, up from the 6-foot-11 mark attached to him when he entered the league. He’s also carrying more size, listed at 245 pounds for opening night, six pounds heavier than the 239 the Wolves had him at to start the 2025-26 season.
That extra size should help in the areas that matter most for a young big man: rebounding, physical defense, and finishing around the rim.
Beringer is expected to have a much bigger job this season after Julius Randle and Naz Reid moved on. As a rookie, he logged only 314 minutes for Minnesota and spent plenty of time with the G League club. Now he should be the first big off the bench on most nights, and the Wolves will need him to hold down the center spot when Rudy Gobert sits.
The jump from 6-foot-11 to 7 feet may seem small, but for a rim protector, every inch can count. It can help when contesting shots, and it can also make lob passes easier to convert. That matters for Minnesota, where center play is a major part of the equation and quality rim protection behind Gobert is especially important.
Beringer already brings serious vertical and lateral ability. Add a little more size and strength, and the defensive ceiling gets more interesting.
Could he still grow again? Maybe, though probably not.
He won’t turn 20 until November 11, so the door isn’t completely closed. Gobert, meanwhile, has been listed at 7-foot-1 for his career and is currently listed at 255 pounds, 10 more than Beringer.
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