In a historic first, two Jewish basketball players were drafted into the NBA—to the same team

Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf debut this week in the NBA Summer League for the Brooklyn Nets.
Ben Saraf (left) and Danny Wolf were both drafted in the 2025 NBA draft, consecutively, to the same team: the Brooklyn Nets. (Photos by Zafer and Jgumina, Wikimedia Commons)

On the first night of the NBA draft on June 25, the most surprising team was undoubtedly the Brooklyn Nets. They had five first-round picks—and, for the first time in NBA history, kept all of them. They picked Egor Demin earlier than anyone would have predicted. And they used two of their picks—back-to-back at numbers 26 and 27—on this year’s only Jewish prospects, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf.

Saraf, an Israeli guard, is a skilled passer and playmaker who just took his German team to the finals of Germany’s national league; Wolf, an American who has played for Israel’s national team, brings a seven-foot frame, excellent court vision and smart footwork. Both will vie for permanent roster spots in Brooklyn’s young core, making their Summer League debuts this week.

To learn more about who these players are and how they fit into Brooklyn’s future plans, the Menschwarmers invited on Nick Agar-Johnson, the editor-in-chief of No Ceilings, a website, Substack and podcast that specialize in year-round NBA draft coverage.

Credits

Support The CJN

Author

Support Our Mission: Make a Difference!

The Canadian Jewish News is now a Registered Journalism Organization (RJO) as defined by the Canada Revenue Agency. To keep our newsletter and quarterly magazine free of charge, we’re asking for individual monthly donations of $10 or more. As our thanks, you’ll receive tax receipts and our gratitude for helping continue our mission. If you have any questions about the donation process, please write to [email protected].

Support the Media that Speaks to You

Jewish Canadians deserve more than social media rumours, adversarial action alerts, and reporting with biases that are often undisclosed. The Canadian Jewish News proudly offers independent national coverage on issues that matter, sparking conversations that bridge generations. 

It’s an outlet you can count on—but we’re also counting on you.

Please support Jewish journalism that’s creative, innovative, and dedicated to breaking new ground to serve your community, while building on media traditions of the past 65 years. As a Registered Journalism Organization, contributions of any size are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.