LJUBLJANA (Slovenia) - The headline is certainly head-turning.
"Joan Beringer, the new French sensation: a potential first-round NBA Draft pick that has been developed in less than four years?!"
It sounds like a plot made for Hollywood, but this is a true story about a teenager's rapid ascent to the one of the largest stages of hoops. Has there ever been a faster development in the recent history of professional basketball?
In September 2021, Joan Beringer obtained his first basketball license at Saint-Joseph Strasbourg. Three years and four months later, he is projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
On January 26, Joan, an 18-year-old, 2.10M big man, scored 11 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots for Ljubljana in the Adriatic League contest against KK Mornar Bar. This was his best offensive performance as a professional - an impressive display on both ends of the floor. That performance did not go unnoticed.
No love for the game - at first
In a few months, there's buzz that he'll be one of the names to be selected in the NBA Draft and maybe even play for France in Lausanne at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025.
Queue flashback.
When he was even young (or at least younger than he is today), Joan (pronounced Yoan) Beringer had no interest in basketball. His lack of interest was to the point where he had never attended a game at Rhénus, the arena where top-flight side SIG Strasbourg play.
But maybe even if he wasn't a basketball fan, he would at least know who Frank Ntilikina - an SIG player who once suited up in the NBA and plays for Les Bleus - as a local of the same city, right?
"No, no," he laughs, talking to Be Basket. "Apart from LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Michael Jordan, I knew nothing about basketball.
"Oh, and Shaquille O'Neal, too!"
Well, at least he knows the big names. Ironically, some now see the potentially where he could be one of the big names himself.
But as a child, his passion was football.
"I played a lot of it," he says.
Beringer was born in Sélestat, where he lived until he was 10 and moved to Strasbourg. He supports the French Ligue 1 football team Racing Club de Strasbourg "above all" and also likes Manchester City.
Basketball was still out of the picture.
Before that, he had even tried judo, but it didn't last.
"A typical day was playing PlayStation, then football with my friends, and eating out in the evening."
Again, no mention of basketball. And this was as recent as no more than 4 years ago.
In the summer of 2021, he had never even touched a basketball. Now, his name is among those expected to be called in the first round of the upcoming NBA Draft.
It's an extraordinary trajectory. In the past, no French player has ever been drafted with so little basketball experience. If it becomes a reality, the only comparable case would be former French national team player Ian Mahinmi, who transitioned from football and made a name for himself playing for the San Antonio Spurs among other teams in just five years.
From the pitch to the hardwood because of the shoes
For Beringer, his incredible journey getting onto the hardwood tipped off because of issues with football cleats.
"At around 14-15 years old, I couldn't find cleats in my size, my feet were too big," he smiles.
So, he had to find a new sport. And when you're that tall, basketball always seems like a no-brainer.
"Everyone kept telling him to try it," recalls his friend Ulysse Salanon. "Even a school supervisor told him!"
Skeptical at first, Joan Beringer gave it a shot, took a few shots, and then played again... and again. And again.
"Day by day, as I kept coming back, I started to love it!"
On the Menora playground, behind the European Parliament, Salanon even taught him the basics.
"I tried to teach him layups, going right or left, shooting form, passing."
In addition to providing him with the foundation of his first knowledge of playing basketball, Salanon also encouraged Beringer to join his club, Saint-Joseph.
His former coach, Lilian Oumiloud, remembers the arrival of the phenomenon to his U17 team.
"Ulysse told me he had a 2.07M friend who wanted to start playing basketball," Oumiloud said.
"I saw a football player who had never played before but was very resourceful and ultra-athletic. At first, he couldn't play with the U17 regional team. He had no knowledge of positioning, no understanding of game systems or defensive rotations."
"In the first few months, he was limited to the developmental team."
Yet, Beringer was a quick study and a hard worker.
"He was sometimes lazy when he played football, skipping training sessions, but I never saw him as motivated as he was back then," laughs Salanon about his friend playing basketball early on.
So, Oumiloud took him under his wing. Along with the two weekly sessions with the youngest players at the Louvois gym, the two worked on the side.
"I treated him like a beginner," recalls the coach. "I quickly decided not to focus on post moves. We worked on dribbling, changing direction, and layups."
The giant even found himself doing dexterity drills with the U11 class.
Naturally, such a unique profile didn't go unnoticed locally, and SIG managed to secure the exceptional talent. However, with only a year of basketball experience, his early days at the training center were anything but smooth.
"Honestly, it was too hard at first," he admits. The gap between him and the others was huge. But, then again, so was his immense potential.
"We noticed it from the first training session," says his former coach Abdel Loucif.
"It was clear from two things; his desire to work and his exceptional physique. A tall player with such coordination, who already had good hands, is rare. He was ahead of everyone in sprints, even the point guards."
First national team experience at the U18 EuroBasket
Sent to develop further with the regional U18 team at SIG Association, the Sélestat native had a minor role with the France team that finished fifth at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in Tampere, Finland, although the experience boosted his confidence.
[Playing for] the French U18 team after less than three years of playing basketball - it was crazy!
"[Playing for] the French U18 team after less than three years of playing basketball—it was crazy!" he said.
"A huge source of pride. Hearing the national anthem before the game, it was just incredible. That's when I looked back and realized how far I had come. It was a great experience, nothing but joy and happiness, even though we lost early. We expected to go further."
For him, the summer of being a part of Les Bleus was a game changer. The machine was set in motion.
Set to play third division in Slovenia
From there, his progress has been meteoric.
From averaging 4.1 points per game with the U18s in 2022-23, he jumped to 17.4 per game last season. At the same time, he established himself as a key player for the U21 prospects team with a solid line of 9.4 points at 67 percent shooting, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest.
"I felt my progress, but it almost seemed natural because I worked a lot with Abdel Loucif," Beringer explains.
"We used every possible moment to work," reveals the Strasbourg coach.
"Going to the NBA was a dream, but now it’s become a goal: I work every day for that!"
This included breaks between classes at school.
"We were in the hallways of Rhénus, just doing dribbling, passing, and shooting form without a hoop. It was a bit unusual," the coach says.
"Before that, my main goal was to fuel his enthusiasm and make him enjoy perfecting his movements. But since he has an incredible mindset, he started working on his fundamentals with relentless determination."
This paved the way for his first professional contract.
That would be with SIG - where he played as a youth and where he grew up, right?
Not quite. Although the club did offer him a professional spot as the 11th member of the team, a few individual training sessions with Cedevita Olimpija last winter, during a medical treatment in a Slovenian clinic, opened up new opportunities.
Throughout the end of the season, Beringer deliberated: Strasbourg or Ljubljana?
"With my entire entourage, we decided that Slovenia was a better project for me," he says. "In basketball, what I love most is working hard and improving."
Did he make that choice because of the reputation of his new coach, Zvezdan Mitrovic?
Beringer didn't know Mitrovic at the time, but Salanon, a "basketball expert" explained that Mitrovic had been at the helm of Monaco and Villeurbanne.
"He told me he was an amazing coach." Beringer says.
Mitrovic was also the coach of Montenegro when they played at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China in 2019.
Cedevita Olimpija initially offered him a place in their reserve team in Slovenia's third division, coached by Miro Alilovic, one of Slovenia's most renowned basketball developers.
"He has trained some big names." Beringer says.
Among them was Jan Vesely, the Czechia national team veteran, who even asked to be his personal coach, as well as the Dragic brothers - Goran and Zoran.
"That immediately excited me."
Except the plan didn't go as followed. Though he was supposed to be with the second team, Beringer (who only turned 18 last November 11), ultimately did not play a single game with Cedevita Olimpija's junior team.
Instead, he earned himself a shot with the the top team.
Mitrovic had seen him with the French U18 team and requested to include him in the first summer training sessions.
We quickly recognized his talent and his desire to improve
"We quickly recognized his talent and his desire to improve," Mitrovic said.
"At first, I wasn’t good, but he gave me a chance in friendly games, and I think I made the most of it," Beringer said.
As a result, from being just a sparring partner, he quickly established himself as Ljubljana’s second center, averaging 16 minutes in European competition and the Adriatic League, averaging 3.7 points on 56 percent shooting, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.0 block on average in 31 games.
Beyond all mutual expectations.
"I never thought I could achieve all this so quickly with the pros," he admits.
Meanwhile, Mitrovic insists that "[his] protégé is progressing faster than expected., a reflection of the milestones he has checked off one after another in recent months.
"(It was) A real pride and the first moment I looked back and realized how far I had come," Beringer says.
"There aren’t many other human beings like him on this planet," said his agent, Valentin Le Clézio.
"It must be said that Joan Beringer offers a unique profile.
"When you're 2.10M barefoot, have a 2.25M wingspan, run and jump as he does, has good hands, is super serious and extremely kind, there aren’t many other humans like that on this planet."
Defensively, he leverages his athletic qualities to establish himself as the top shot-blocker in the Adriatic League.
"Energy, defense, and verticality are my strengths
"Energy, defense, and verticality are my strengths," he says.
With a standout performance on December 30 against Partizan Belgrade: a narrow loss (78-76), only 2 points scored but an impressive +16 plus/minus, he was the only positive on his team.
"Against Tyrique Jones and Brandon Davies, I wasn’t too confident at first," he smiles.
On the offensive end, he is an easy target for alley-oops thanks to his running and leaping ability. His skill set is constantly evolving to the point where he surprises even himself.
"It happened again last week against Jerusalem," he says. "Initially, I was setting up for a high-low, but I saw no one was there. I don’t know why I shot, but it went in, and it was a good surprise."
This proves that he is a center who, in the long run, aims to shoot three-pointers, given his immense potential for growth.
"The main focus is on all the fundamentals," he says.
"That's one of the reasons why I came to Ljubljana. I want to learn to control the ball better, play better in the post, and analyze situations more effectively. I’d like to be a threat anywhere on the court, whether it’s from three-point range, inside the paint, or mid-range. I really want to become a player who can score in many situations."
Athletically, Joan Beringer has found himself in the right place with a successful team, second in their EuroCup group (10 wins, 5 losses), mentored by Andrija Stipanovic at the center position. The Bosnian was already a professional when his French teammate wasn't even born.
"He helps me every day, he gives me so much advice. I learn from him every day." Beringer says. "All under the guidance of Zvezdan Mitrovic, a coach known for disregarding his players' resumes.
"That's not a myth, he really doesn’t care about status as long as you're focused and give it your all on the court," he laughs.
"Joan is improving every day on both ends of the floor," Mitrovic says. "He has talent and an excellent work ethic. We all know he’s still learning the basics, as he only recently started playing basketball. For now, we're in the first phase of his development, teaching him everything about defense."
No. 24 in ESPN’s latest mock draft
The first phase of a development plan which was initially intended to span several years with a contract running until 2028, could well be cut short.
Beringer's meteoric rise has now placed him at the 24th spot in ESPN's latest NBA Draft projection. This development surprises even those that have believed in him from the start.
"In Pro B, I wouldn’t have been surprised, but in a EuroCup, I’m really astonished," admits Abdel Loucif.
When recalling the joint training sessions between the youth teams and Beringer at Saint-Joseph in 2022, Oumiloud also finds it hard to believe the progress of his former rookie.
"It’s normal for him to improve, but not this fast. No one expected this. But the combination of his genetic predispositions, his work ethic, his humility, and his ability to manage his emotions. It’s scary."
And what does Beringer think of this himself?
"No, I can’t quite grasp it. I always want to do better, so I try to stay focused on the next game and give my best."
However, seeing his name in mock drafts is surprising.
"It feels a bit weird," he says. "I look at it without really paying much attention. Going to the NBA was a dream, but now it’s become a goal: I work every day for that."
In the midst of this whirlwind, the former U17 departmental player from Saint-Joseph (who enjoys books, manga, and fishing outside of basketball) is also trying to savor the moment as he undergoes a dizzying transition from youth leagues in France to the European leagues.
"It's crazy," he admits. "It’s a whole different world, a huge step forward. The level changes so much, but I’ve adapted quite well. What struck me the most is the environment. You go from a U18 game, where there’s barely anyone in the gym, to the EuroCup, where there are lights, player presentations, a packed arena, and you can’t hear anything."
Indeed, in the vast Stozice Arena, which seats 12,000, the atmosphere is nothing like the old Hall de la Poste, where he honed his skills over the past two seasons.
Now, he plays in the very arena where the French national team won its only FIBA EuroBasket title, in 2013.
"Oh really, it was here?! I had no idea, you just taught me something new!"
His basketball knowledge continues to expand. No surprise - after all, he’s only been at it for 40 months.
FIBA with Alexandre Lacoste