The Minnesota Timberwolves seized a chance for Joan Bellinger in the NBA Draft. That could be a wise move.
The NBA Draft is difficult to get right, and there is even more room for error when it comes to overseas outlooks.
The big story of the 2025 draft was the Portland Trail Blazers, who took Chinese prospect Yang Hansen with pick number 16.
This surprising move allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to bring in French talent Joan Bellinger on their 17th pick.
Beringer has actually received impressive reviews from his teammates since then, and he has just played his first NBA Summer League game.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have begun summer league efforts for both teams, beating the New Orleans Pelican 98-91.
There were prominent newcomers on both sides. Jeremiah scored 14 points, but 12 points, but was a shaky four with 12 shots.
Derrick Queen posted a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Former Golden State Warriors outlook Leicester Quinones scored 20 points.
For the Timberwolves, Terrence Shannon JR and Leonard Miller both scored 20 points each, leading the team’s victory.
Joan Bellinger scored 11 points, but the real story was his impression. 7 blocks In addition to his eight rebounds.
For context, in Pelican, not one player has run one block of all games. Bellinger had seven.
Joan Beringer’s big performance sparked a real stir among fans, recognizing that Timberwolves had drafted serious talent.
One fan wrote: “His footwork is already at NBA level. If he could maintain this strength throughout the full season, the Wolf might have found a missing piece.”
Second added.
And the third person wrote: “Summer League is always full of overreaction, but it appears that Joan Bellinger is ahead of schedule.”
“Joan Bellinger is Michael Jordan from Derrick Lives,” the fourth fan wrote.
“There’s only another 1,087 days before Joan Beringer can officially sign his Max Rookie Extension,” another posted optimistically.
And the sixth added:
It’s just a summer league, and it’s just one game, but Joan Bellinger has made a big impression, and he’s only 18 years old.
The Timberwolves reached the final two Western Conference finals and needed something special to take them a step further.
Perhaps they just found it.