Brooklyn Drafts Jewish Hoopers Wolf & Saraf

In a sense, it was only fitting that the Brooklyn Nets, who play in a borough with such deep Jewish roots, made Jewish sports history last month by selecting Israeli Ben Saraf and Israeli American Danny Wolf back-to-back with the 26th and 27th picks in the NBA Draft. To this day, Brooklyn — to say nothing of neighboring Manhattan — is still home to a massive Jewish population, and the Barclays Center on Atlantic Avenue will be a hub of vibrant Jewish culture every time Wolf and Saraf take the floor this coming season.

“It’s certainly going to be unique having both of them here,” exclaimed Nets GM Sean Marks during a recent press conference introducing Wolf and Saraf as part of the team’s five-member rookie draft class that also includes Egor Demin from Russia, Nolan Traore from France, and UNC’s DD. “We’re excited about that. I know the borough’s excited about that. I know the Jewish community here is very excited about it, too. You’ve got two incredible ambassadors for that here. So, it’s exciting.

“To be honest, it’s fantastic the way it just worked out. The game of basketball is such a worldly game, played all over the globe. You’ve heard about how the rest of the world is sort of catching up to one of America’s games.”

Indeed, the way it worked out was nothing short of a miracle. Wolf, a 7-foot center who began his collegiate career at Yale before transferring to Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the Sweet 16 last March, was not expected to drop this far down in the first round. Conversely, the 19-year-old Saraf, who most recently played professionally in Germany, was projected as a second-round pick. But Marks and his head coach, Jordi Fernandez, armed with a whopping five first-round selections, took the advice of former Cleveland Cavaliers Jewish head coach David Blatt, who has watched Wolf and Saraf play extensively through the years, and made Jewish sports history with their final two picks of the evening.

Even though the Eastern Conference remains wide open with top teams such as the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers dealing with critical injuries, the Nets are a young squad squarely in a developmental phase, coming off a 26-56 season. As such, even though Wolf needs to work on limiting his turnover issues and Saraf wants to improve as a perimeter shooter, both should have ample opportunities for playing meaningful minutes right away.

Wolf, who became an Israeli citizen in order to play for Israel at the 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship in Greece (where he practiced with Saraf), attended Jewish day school until fifth grade, and was bar mitzvahed at the Western Wall, is a particularly intriguing prospect with his towering height, deft ball handling skills, and razor-sharp basketball IQ. Even more intriguing is his path to the NBA, as he is one of the precious few products of the Ivy League to get drafted. When asked about his unique background, Wolf provided a long-winded response, explaining,

“My basketball journey’s definitely been up and down and it’s taken definitely a few different steps to get where I am today. Just going to Yale gave me that opportunity and I took that and ran with that. I didn’t play much my freshman year there. Just kind of used that as an opportunity to work and develop my game and just grow in the areas that I needed to. I had a great summer playing for that Israeli team in the under-20 tournament, which gave me some momentum. I had a pretty good sophomore year, and after the year I just decided that it was in my best interest to challenge myself and prove myself against the best in the country on a nightly basis so I went to Michigan and we had a great year there. Now I was in position to get to the NBA, so we decided it was the best time to do it. The Nets took a chance on me again.

“In terms of my skill set, I think it’s still developing. I think just the jump I made from Yale to Michigan and now obviously the NBA is a different animal. I’m going to have to keep working on a lot of different things, but I think there’s a lot of different things I can do on a basketball court.”

The 6-foot-6 guard Saraf, a son of two, one-time Israeli pro basketball players who was born in South Africa but moved to Israel when he was three, also proudly wears his Judaism on his sleeve, or rather his jersey, by wearing No. 77 because it represents the Hebrew word, “mazal,” which translates to “luck.” During his intro presser, Saraf was asked about learning he was headed to NYC and the early days of enjoying life as one of the city’s more recognizable sports figures.

“It was amazing,” responded Saraf. “I got a lot of messages, a lot of love from the Jewish community here. I appreciate all the love that I’m getting in the street and from the fans.”

Though Saraf did not play any college basketball stateside, he’s been a prominent professional player in different European leagues for several years now and after piloting his German team, Ratiopharm Ulm of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), to the league finals this past season, Marks and the Nets felt they had seen enough to roll the dice.

It was amazing. I got a lot of messages, a lot of love from the Jewish community here. I appreciate all the love that I’m getting in the street and from the fans.

“I really enjoyed watching Ben overseas,” said Marks. “We went over to see him live a couple times. So, it was great to watch how hard he competes. I think that was something that really stood out. Passing ability, pride on defense, I think he’s playing at a high level over there. For him to come back here and be a part of this group with those experiences, those worldly experiences, is key. I like the way he gets to the hole, finishes around the basket, doesn’t shy away from contact. I think there are a lot of things that translate into our game.”

The Nets may be years away from seriously contending for an NBA title, but their bringing on board Wolf and Saraf has already stirred great excitement among Jewish basketball fans in New York, which already has a robust Jewish sports presence with Max Fried and Adam Fox starring for the New York Yankees and New York Rangers, respectively.