Tim Connelly Is All In On Joan Beringer

The French have played a heavy role in shaping the United States of America over the last 250 years. They provided support to the colonists during the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon for a measly $15 million. And the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French. Lady Liberty stands 151’6” tall with a standing reach of 305 feet on her pedestal, watching over New York Harbor as a symbol of freedom.

However, Tim Connelly’s gift from the French is 6’11”, 220 lbs, with a 9’3” standing reach and a 32″ vertical. Connelly is staking the future of Timberwolves basketball on that gift.

Joan Beringer won’t turn 20 until Veterans Day (November 11, which marks the armistice between the Allies and Germany in WWI, signed in France). He played 314 minutes over 40 games in his rookie season and hasn’t played meaningful basketball since the Minnesota Timberwolves selected him with the 17th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Still, Tim Connelly has seen this offseason enough to anoint Beringer a “superhuman” who could be a once-in-a-generation defensive talent.

On a recent episode of the Jon Krawczynski Show, the Wolves’ President of Basketball Operations sang the praises of his backup center. Connelly said that Beringer guards Ant in one-on-ones all the time and has the physical tools to be an elite defender. It’s high praise for a relatively lightly scouted prospect who only started playing basketball four years ago.

Joan Beringer didn’t have many opportunities behind Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle as a rookie. However, when he hit the floor, he did show flashes of what Connelly sees for his future. He averaged only 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game. Still, there were moments when you could see an elite rebounder, shot-blocker, and rim runner in the making.

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He scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in Minnesota’s 33-point blowout of the Milwaukee Bucks in January. Beringer had 10 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in a three-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs. And he scored a career high 24 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked seven shots in the last game of the season, a win against the New Orleans Pelicans in which both teams rested their starters and let their bench and young players run wild. It’s a meaningless game against an inferior opponent’s second string, but the 24-13-7 line gives fans a tiny glimpse into what Beringer could become down the line.

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With Connelly’s consistent, effusive praise for the French teenager throughout his rookie season, it’s hard not to think about another little-known freak athlete who came out of nowhere to take the NBA by storm. For Timberwolves fans, it’s hard not to dream about Beringer following in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s footsteps.

The Greek Freak’s rags-to-riches story from the streets of Athens to the top of the NBA is the American dream realized. People forget that before Giannis was a one-name NBA superstar with a body sculpted from Greek marble, he was a gangly teenager who grew up playing soccer and found respite in basketball, only to be discovered and picked 15th overall in 2013.

Giannis got far more run as a rookie than Beringer did because he played for a Bucks team that won 15 games led by Brandon Knight and second-year forward Khris Middleton. Giannis played 77 games his rookie year and even started 23 games in a lost season for Milwaukee. He averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game as a rookie and made the All-Rookie second team.

It was hardly a harbinger of what was to come: a two-time NBA MVP, NBA Champion and Finals MVP, DPOY, and one of the 30 best players in the history of the sport. But there were enough flashes early on for the Bucks front office to know what they had, build a team around him, put the ball in his hands, and let him do the rest.

That’s in no way me saying that Joan Beringer will be the next Giannis, or even a star in the NBA. He’s still young, raw, and has a lot to learn about the game on both ends of the floor. He averaged 5.4 fouls per 36 minutes as a rookie.

For context, Jaden McDaniels’ career-high foul rate is 4.5 per 36 minutes. Of his 65 made field goals, 32 were dunks. He’ll need to drastically expand his offensive game to be anything more than a rim runner. He can’t space the floor even past the paint, so playing alongside Rudy Gobert will gum up the works if Finch elects to give Beringer the starting power forward position.

Beringer is also a young player on a team with championship aspirations. Chris Finch has shown that if he has a choice between young player development and winning games, he’s going to hit the win-now button at all costs.

But the way Connelly gushes about Joan Beringer, it’s hard to believe he won’t be given every opportunity to thrive next to Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and McDaniels. Connelly is all in on Beringer for better or worse, and the future of the Timberwolves and Connelly’s career is staked on whether Beringer can live up to the massive hype from his believers.