The preseason of Jonas Valanciunas must remind Wolves fans of a former player

Joan Beringer, the 17th general pick in the NBA design of 2025, showed his potential at both ends of the floor in his debut for the preseason. In the victory of Saturday 126-116 on the Nuggets, the Rookie ended with 14 points, 4 rebounds and a block in 23 minutes. It is clear that he is still raw (becomes November 19), especially since he has not even been playing the sport for so long.

To start his career, he had moments when Jonas Valanciunas, who now played for Denver, bullying him in the post. It was reminiscent of a former great man of Wolves, Nikola Pekovic, who did similar work during his term of Minnesota.

Joan Beringer had a lot of trouble guarding Jonas Valanciunas Laag

Valanciunas, listed on 6-foot-11, 265 lbs. He introduces his 14th NBA season and has average double digits on average in scoring every year after his Rookie. Much of his damage to the violation comes from pest defenders low because they have no answer to prevent him from getting a great position.

That is what Beringer has experienced a few times against 33-year-old Lithuania. It can be seen as a ‘welcome to the nba’ moment for the Rookie. Now not every team will have a Valanciunas (or Nikola Jokic, in that respect) that Beringer will give so much effort because of their strength. However, it can be difficult to play him in games where he is facing a similar player.

Timberwolves fans who have viewed the opener of Saturday may have seen similarities between Valanciunas and a former player of them. Nikola Pekovic was an immobile object with Minnesota, who unfortunately had his career prematurely because of injury.

Nikola Pekovic was a force with the Timberwolves

Pekovic was selected in the second round (31st General) in the NBA design of 2008 and joined the Timberwolves in 2010. He would play for 6 seasons in the NBA, all with Minnesota.

Mention on 6-foot-11, 307 pounds, there were just no players who could prevent Pekovic from found his way inside. He left the defenders bruised and tired within a few minutes after guarding him. His two most productive years arrived in 2012-13 and 2013-14, where he combined with an average of 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds.

A single and Achilles injuries have unfortunately helped to limit the NBA career of Pekovic to just 271 games. It is a shame because he was on his way to be an eternal top 10 center in the competition.