MN Timberwolves Rookie Blows Up Expectations in Summer League Debut

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Joan Beringer - Minnesota Timberwolves - 2K26 Summer League
Credit: Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves - X)

The Minnesota Timberwolves played their first 2K26 Summer League game down in Vegas on Thursday afternoon, coming out with a 98-91 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly and head coach Chris Finch sent all of the Wolves best youngsters down to the desert, including 2024 1st round picks Rob Dillingham and TJ Shannon Jr, along with 2025 top pick, Joan Beringer, and even 2023 picks like Leonard Miller and Jaylen Clark.

Without a doubt, Minnesota has one of the more veteran, talented rosters down in Vegas this summer, something they showed off for much of Thursday’s win over the Pelicans. But there’s one overarching storyline from this afternoon that stood out above all others.

Joan Beringer debuts better than advertised

If you were watching the start of today’s game or you were anywhere near MN sports Twitter around 2:30 PM CDT, you became a Joan Beringer believer by 2:45 PM CDT, after the French 7-footer stuffed multiple New Orleans shot attempts in the first few minutes that immediately got the attention of everyone in the arena and watching on TV.

Related: ESPN Expert Crowns Wolves as 1st Round NBA Draft Winner

We knew Beringer came into Summer League play with the reputation of a defensive force everywhere else he has played. But remember, this kid is only 18 years old and he’s only been playing the game of basketball for FOUR of those trips around the sun. So in all reality, we had no idea what to expect from the No. 17 overall draft pick this summer.

But it became very clear early on Thursday afternoon that the Minnesota Timberwolves got a non-lottery steal earlier this month when Joan Beringer fell to them. All day, he didn’t just look like he belonged on the floor in Vegas, he looked like he would belong on a regular season NBA court.

When the desert dust settled between the Wolves and Pels today, Beringer walked off the floor with 11 points on 5/6 from the field, 8 rebounds including three on the offensive glass, 2 steals and a whopping 6 blocks. No doubt he was one of the best players on the floor for all 22+ minutes the young rookie played.

Overall solid start for Minnesota Timberwolves summer squad

Not everything went as planned today. While Beringer, Shannon Jr and Jaylen Clark showed out, Rob Dillingham (15 pts, 6 ast, 7 TO) had a tougher time than what you’d like to see from a 2nd year former top 10 pick.

But overall, the Minnesota Timberwolves have to be happy with what they saw from their youngsters Thursday, especially their latest top pick, Joan Beringer.

Next up, the Wolves summer squad will get the Denver Nuggets Saturday at 9 PM on NBA TV and ESPN3.

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