Joan Beringer left San Antonio thinking about everything he had failed to do. Victor Wembanyama offered a different assessment of the Timberwolves teenager.

Starting in place of Rudy Gobert on Saturday, Beringer spent 34 minutes dealing with one of basketball’s toughest assignments. Wembanyama finished with 43 points and six blocks in a 121-111 Spurs victory. Beringer finished frustrated.

“Just that I couldn’t really stop Wemby. I couldn’t really stop him,” Beringer said. “A lot of frustration, but we have to think about next.”

For a 19-year-old still learning the position, the performance contained plenty worth taking into the next game. Beringer scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and contributed two assists while Minnesota played without Gobert, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. But the strongest endorsement came from the player who had made his night so difficult.

“He acts like a player who knows what it takes to stay and last in the league,” Wembanyama said. “From what I hear, he has a good work ethic, real seriousness, and humility. He has a great future.”

That praise addressed qualities Minnesota will need long after the disappointment of this loss fades. Beringer is being asked to learn quickly, contribute immediately and handle mistakes without allowing them to consume his next possession. Saturday showed how difficult that balance can be.

Beringer acknowledged that greater physicality could help him against Wembanyama, then criticized himself for failing to provide enough of it. He recognized a potential answer but felt he had not applied it consistently.

Jonathan Kuminga noticed how heavily those shortcomings were weighing on him. During the game, Kuminga pulled Beringer aside to offer guidance. Afterward, he explained why.

“I think he’s doing so much good that he’s not realizing that he’s doing a lot of good stuff,” Kuminga said. “He’s just trying to penalize himself on small stuff.”

Kuminga understood the impulse. He described wanting to be perfect early in his own career, when limited opportunities made every mistake feel especially costly. His advice was to trust the work, learn from different coverages and keep playing. That perspective matters for Beringer because the opportunities are arriving much faster now.

Beringer played just 314 minutes as a rookie, spending most of the year redshirting. Seven games into this season, he had already surpassed 130.

Gobert’s absence with back spasms pushed him into a starting assignment against Wembanyama on the second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota was also completing its fifth game in seven nights.

Beringer still wanted the conversation to center on winning. He believed the players available were capable of it. That expectation helps explain his frustration, even as teammates and coaches saw reasons for encouragement.

“He battled,” Chris Finch said. “Got his hands full for sure, but he battled and did some good things.”

Finch had identified progress a night earlier, after Minnesota’s win over the Clippers. Beringer was learning to control the activity that makes him useful.

“He always plays hard and he goes after everything, and that’s what we love about him,” Finch explained. “But sometimes his overaggressiveness will put him in foul trouble.”

The next step is choosing those moments more effectively. Against San Antonio, Beringer committed five fouls but stayed available long enough to give Minnesota substantial minutes at a position where its options were limited. LaMelo Ball sees those experiences as necessary preparation. He praised Beringer’s talent while emphasizing the smaller details they can improve together.

“It’s early in the season, so I feel like we’re going to definitely need [him] a lot,” Ball said. “It’s just all reps and helping.”

Minnesota needs Beringer to absorb those lessons without losing the aggression that earned him this opportunity. Kuminga is helping him recognize progress. Finch is helping him direct his energy. Ball wants to sharpen their connection.

And the opponent Beringer couldn’t stop sees a player preparing himself for a long NBA career.