{"id":337581,"date":"2026-09-04T02:35:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/337581\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T02:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:35:54","slug":"ben-saraf-opens-up-on-his-nba-rookie-season-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/337581\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Saraf opens up on his NBA rookie season journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israeli basketball has taken significant strides forward in recent years, thanks in large part to the success of Deni Avdija<\/a> in the National Basketball Association.<\/p>\n

His emergence as a star with the Portland Trail Blazers and his selection to last season\u2019s NBA All-Star Game have shown a generation of young Israelis that reaching the world\u2019s premier basketball league is no longer just a dream.<\/p>\n

While Avdija was taking his first steps in the NBA<\/a> with the Washington Wizards, Ben Saraf was developing his game in Europe before being selected by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 20-year-old guard enjoyed a solid rookie campaign, appearing in 44 games and making 11 starts while averaging 7.5 points, 3.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges that come with adapting to the NBA, Saraf continued to develop his skills and became yet another role model for young basketball players across Israel.<\/p>\n

Saraf, who also played in the NBA Summer League, returned to Israel to take part in a special event hosted by legendary YouTuber and sports analyst Pini Barel together with Foot Locker at Cinema City in Rishon LeZion. The event gave hundreds of fans the opportunity to hear firsthand about life in the NBA and meet one of Israel\u2019s brightest basketball stars.<\/p>\n

\"BROOKLYNBROOKLYN NETS rookie guard Ben Saraf drives for a layup against fellow Israeli Deni Avdija of the Portland Trail Blazers during their teams\u2019 duel in New York. (credit: Vincent Carchietta\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Prior to the event, Saraf sat down with The Jerusalem Post to discuss his debut NBA season, his development as a player and what it means to be an Israeli and a Jew playing in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun meeting the Israeli fans,\u201d Saraf began as he spoke about the special program. \u201cWe haven\u2019t really had events like this in Israel before, so it\u2019s something special for the basketball culture here. I\u2019m having a great time, and it\u2019s amazing to see people wearing my jersey. That\u2019s really exciting. I hadn\u2019t been back to Israel for quite a while, so it\u2019s always great to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing in the NBA is, of course, a dream come true for the modest Saraf, who played for teams in Netanya, Kiryat Ata and Ulm before landing in the United States, where he is teammates with fellow Israeli Danny Wolf and now competes in the same league as Avdija.<\/p>\n

‘Bigger than basketball’<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the most exciting and emotional moment was the game where there were three Israelis playing together on the same court with all the Jewish fans in attendance. It was so much bigger than basketball<\/a>. That was definitely the most powerful moment of my season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being based in New York has allowed Saraf to spend time with the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, something he is taking full advantage of.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing. There are endless Friday night dinners. Even when I travel to other places, I meet many Israelis and Jews doing gap-year programs or volunteering, and I\u2019m always invited over. That\u2019s also true when it comes to Chabad houses across the country. I try to go whenever I can. I also visited a Jewish school in Cleveland to talk with the kids. It\u2019s great. I really appreciate all that support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saraf learned plenty during his first season in the NBA and gained valuable insight into the areas of his game that still need improvement. While he shot 39.6 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free-throw line as a rookie, the guard knows there is room to grow, particularly with his outside shot after connecting on 21.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my workouts over the past few months, the Summer League and our team practices, I already feel like the game has slowed down for me a bit. You have to get used to the pace and understand better what\u2019s expected of you. This summer, I\u2019m focusing a lot on improving my shooting, getting stronger physically, learning how to take care of my body and how to prepare for games. Those are all things you learn during your first NBA season, and I\u2019m happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The national team remains a major priority for Saraf, as it does for virtually every Israeli basketball player. Although he would have liked to represent Israel during the recent World Cup qualifying window, obligations with the Nets prevented him from doing so. Still, there is little doubt that he sees a bright future alongside Avdija in blue and white.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge dream. Honestly, whenever I play for the national team, that\u2019s when I enjoy basketball the most. Those tournaments are the most fun for me, and it\u2019s always an incredible experience. I\u2019m also really excited to watch the youth national teams. They\u2019re doing an amazing job. I think we have a lot of talented prospects and that we can become a really strong national team in the future. I\u2019m very excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the upcoming season, Saraf has both personal and team goals he hopes to achieve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this year we want to win as many games as possible. Last season, there were more opportunities for the younger players, and I think that really helped all of us. But this year it\u2019s about winning. Whoever helps the team win is going to play. So for me, it\u2019s about earning minutes, earning the coaching staff\u2019s trust and being as impactful as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Saraf, there are also bigger dreams on the horizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking the playoffs is definitely a dream. I think this year our team has been built well, and I really believe we can do it. That\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saraf also finished his rookie season on a high note. After spending part of the year in the G League, the 20-year-old responded with arguably the strongest stretch of basketball of his young NBA career. Over Brooklyn\u2019s<\/a> final four games, he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists while logging more than 32 minutes per contest. The highlight of that run came when he scored 19 points in back-to-back games against Milwaukee and Indiana, showing the poise, confidence and playmaking ability that made him one of Europe\u2019s most highly regarded prospects.<\/p>\n

Saraf also experienced some adversity during his rookie campaign, including a stint in the G League. However, he viewed the experience as an opportunity rather than a setback and returned to finish the season strongly, averaging 0.9 steals per game while showing flashes of the playmaking ability that made him such a highly regarded prospect.<\/p>\n

Carving a role with Nets<\/p>\n

But his strong finish offered a glimpse of Saraf\u2019s potential heading into his sophomore season and reinforced his belief that he can carve out a meaningful role with the Nets moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really important for me to prove to myself that I was capable, even if I had to take a step back. I wanted to stay mentally strong, and I think by the end of the season I was playing much better and had some good games. But the goal now is to start next season already playing a meaningful role with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being part of the NBA also gives Saraf a front-row seat to some of the league\u2019s biggest storylines and blockbuster moves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think every year it\u2019s crazy, but ever since the Luka Doncic trade from Dallas to the Lakers, it\u2019s on another level. It really shows that anyone can be traded from their team at any point. Even LeBron James is now in the Eastern Conference.\u201d<\/p>\n

While life in the NBA may be exhilarating, Saraf still misses some things from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo question,\u201d he smiled. \u201cThe beach, the fruit and the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

See more Israeli sports coverage at www.sportsrabbi.com\/en<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israeli basketball has taken significant strides forward in recent years, thanks in large part to the success of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4567,98,100,99,7067,126791,21,9,24,63,126792],"class_list":["post-337581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-basketball","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-deni-avdija","tag-israeli-sports","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rishon-lezion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}