Joan Beringer Is a Tantalizing Unfinished Product Ahead of NBA Draft

French center Joan Beringer is emerging as a prospect with KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana this season. His frame and athleticism make him pop on tape, but at only 18 years old there are clear signs that he is growing into his body and learning on the fly.

Joan Beringer / fiba.basketbal

Joan Beringer is fun to watch. He’s young, long, and springy. He plays like he has pogo sticks for legs, for better or worse. He’s only 18 years old, stands at 6-foot-11 and has close to a 7-foot-5 wingspan. In 18 games and six starts for KK Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana this season he’s averaging 3.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 15.4 minutes per game. 

None of those numbers really pop, but here’s one that does: opponents are only shooting 27 percent at the rim against Beringer this season according to Synergy Sports. Now, don’t get too excited - the sample is small. It’s only 11 attempts. Part of the reason the sample is so small though, is because when Beringer has gotten switched onto perimeter players this season they never attack the rim. They opt to shoot jumpers over him. 

Some of this is because Beringer sits back a little deeper than you would like when playing defense on the perimeter. His on-ball defensive stance isn’t perfect either. He hunches over too much and relies on hand checks that are simply going to be instant foul calls in the NBA. However, even with those negatives, he’s still a scary sight for opponents to try to take off the dribble, and his potential as a switch-everything center is obvious. With tweaks to stance and positioning, it’s easy to see Beringer developing this skill set. 

Beringer has played a good amount of drop and at-the-level coverage for Cedevita this season as well where he’s gotten to showcase his excellent recovery defense. His athleticism helps him cover ground in a way few overseas centers do. He’s difficult to meet at the rim and deters attempts entirely sometimes. One minor flaw is that he always contests with his right hand. This puerile trait is common, one that you expect him to work out of his system with more experience because he currently concedes some cheap fouls, twisting his body for right-hand contests. 

On offense, Beringer has a lot of room for improvement. He’s a solid screener and rolls to the rim with authority but he struggles to convert anything that isn’t a dunk, and even struggles with dunks sometimes too. This is another trait that appears to be connected to his age. Beringer, being only 18 years old, looks like he’s still growing into his body. His coordination isn’t perfect, and that’s going to lead to less-than-ideal touch around the rim. 

Beringer does crash the offensive glass hard and capitalize on opportunities there too, and he’s a proud rim-runner who revels the opportunity to beat his opposite number down the floor for an easy score. Primarily, Beringer seems to understand how he can be beneficial to his team on offense and rarely thinks outside that box. For a player like him, that’s a good thing.

With what he has currently put on display, Beringer is likely nothing more than a second-round stash in the 2025 Draft Class. There are reasons for optimism when it comes to his NBA future, but not his immediate future. He is young, and growing mentally and physically still. Should he continue to develop adequately, he could be in an NBA rotation somewhere in his twenties.

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