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Which Nets Rookie Has Been the Best Through Three Preseason Games?
Sep 23, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) and guard Drake Powell (4) speak at Media Day. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets have just completed their preseason trip to Macao for the NBA China Games, splitting a two-game series with the Phoenix Suns. Coming back to North America, the Nets have one more matchup with the Toronto Raptors in Canada before beginning the regular season in Charlotte against the Hornets.

Three games in, we have already seen a good chunk of minutes from the rookies. While Egor Demin, the team's No. 8 pick, has been out due to a plantar fascia tear in his foot, four of the five first-round picks have seen action.

Drake Powell, the No. 22 pick in the draft, has been the best defender of the rookies, as expected. The North Carolina product played in Brooklyn's two games against the Suns and averaged 6.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.5 steals in 14.5 minutes. The stats won't show it, but he was a major disruptor for the Nets, and got active on both ends.

In the Nets' 111-109 win over Phoenix on Sunday, Ben Saraf had the best performance of the class with four points, four rebounds, 11 assists and a steal. Through three games, he's averaging 7.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

The Israeli guard has been Brooklyn's best floor general as well, playing with poise and maturity. While Nolan Traore has struggled a bit through the preseason, Saraf has been the most efficient point guard thus far in terms of finding open teammates for buckets.

While Saraf and Powell have impressed in their own ways, Brooklyn's best rookie through three preseason games has been Danny Wolf, the No. 27 and final first-round pick from the Nets' draft. The seven-footer hasn't necessary dominated in one particular department, but as a whole, he's been doing multiple things at impressive levels.

It has mimicked Wolf's play style at Michigan. The Israeli-American showcased scoring, rebounding and playmaking, reflecting basketball's modern big man. Head coach Jordi Fernandez made an eye-opening comparison between Wolf and multi-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Wolf is averaging 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in just 13.7 minutes per game. He has been a Swiss Army knife on offense, playing both in the paint and on the perimeter.

If Wolf can continue this production for the Nets, he could be a key rotation player, especially if trades open up more minutes at the power forward and center positions. The best part about his game is that it allows for Brooklyn to play him as the lone big man, or with another center in the lineup.


This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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