Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf will be playing his first season in the NBA this upcoming 2025-26 campaign after spending the entirety of his basketball career overseas. Brooklyn chose Saraf with the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft earlier this summer and he is hoping to make an impact immediately, the Israeli product took some time to explain his unique number choice for his jersey No. 77.
“In Hebrew, every letter has a number like a, it’s one, b it’s two and move on. In Hebrew, the No. 77 means mazal, that’s luck in English,” Saraf said in a video posed on the “TRXBE” YouTube channel. Saraf spent his professional career playing for Ratiopharm Ulm, a team in the German BBL league and his performance overseas was able to draw the attention of NBA personnel.
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“People doesn’t see all the work that you put in,” Saraf continued when discussing what his life is like prior to when fans see him take the floor for games. “They just like come to the game and watch how good you are and if you miss a shot or you make a shot. But, I think they’re not seeing like the behind the scenes.”
Saraf, 19, comes to the NBA as one of five players that Brooklyn selected in the 2025 Draft and it also one of four players in the Nets’ class that has some kind of skill set as a ball-handler. In addition to Saraf, Brooklyn also drafted guard Egor Demin (eighth overall pick), guard Nolan Traore (19th overall pick), and forward Danny Wolf (26th overall pick).
Saraf, who had his own thoughts on what his first taste of the NBA was like while playing in the Las Vegas Summer League in July, has a chance to earn a spot within the rotation for head coach Jordi Fernandez. Saraf getting to the league is most likely more than just luck, but based on the choice of his jersey number, it seems like he is willing to admit that he needed some things to go his way as well.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Ben Saraf explains why he chose to wear No. 77 in the NBA