Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Yanic Konan Niederhauser left with a win, posting 15 points and six boards while shooting 100% from the floor. This sounds like a perfect night, right? Well, it gets even better; Niederhauser had a chip on his shoulder, as the Timberwolves chose a center, Joan Beringer, 13 spots ahead of him. He dominated and outperformed Beringer in one fell swoop, leaving Minnesota with regret, wishing they could enter a time machine and re-draft.
Niederhauser showcased to Minnesota what they missed out on through several dunks and the capitalization on extra opportunities. It is also worth noting that his only block of the night was on Julius Randle, which was the cherry on top.
GET THAT OUTTA THERE, YANIC ‼️ pic.twitter.com/p2V8ukmfkl
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 8, 2026
Thus, the development of the LA Clippers’ first-round draft pick has brought fans a ton of joy. He has grown on and off the court and will continue to prosper with inevitable elevation in the rotation following the trade deadline.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser has been one of the best rookie centers in the league
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ rookie, Joan Beringer, has been solid. He is relatively efficient and has a lot of upside, but he is not on Yanic Konan Niederhauser’s level, and the Timberwolves’ front office has slowly realized that.
Furthermore, Niederhauser deserves credit for being one of the best big men in his class. Though he is still regarded as being behind a handful of names drafted with him, the film does not lie, and in a short matter of time, narratives will change.
The secret that Niderhauser’s skillset dwindles to, in which he understands and maximizes it, is activity. This applies to crashing the glass, looking for put-back opportunities, effectively rolling to the basket, blocking shots to the third row, and always being available to clean up mistakes.
He did it all versus the Timberwolves, and because he has repeatedly shown the same tendencies across several other games this season, he would have been a snub if not honored with a selection to the 2026 Rising Stars Game.
Additionally, Niederhauser has had three double-digit scoring performances as a rookie, while not missing a shot. These types of feats are genuinely unheard of from the Clippers’ youth, and it goes to show how special the 30th overall pick has been.
That said, Minnesota is one of several teams that had center-needs in the summer, and with what Niederhauser just did in a 19-point win, they have to be feeling a sharp pain knowing their rotation could have been better had they made the choice the Clippers did.