Why Ben Saraf Chose No.77: A Look at the Number’s NBA History

While most of the Brooklyn Nets’ rookies will be debuting new numbers next season, one rookie is sticking with the same number that he has already been wearing for several years.

Brooklyn’s No. 27 overall pick Ben Saraf will wear No. 77 next season, the same number that he wore while playing professionally in Germany for Ratiopharm Ulm and representing Israel in international competition throughout his young career.

At first glance, it might look like an unusual choice. But as Saraf explained in a short film on the TRXBE YouTube channel, the number carries a much deeper meaning for him.

“In Hebrew, every letter has a number, like a, it's one, b it's two, and so on. In Hebrew, the No. 77 means mazal. So that's luck in English,” Saraf said.

According to Basketball Reference, Saraf will become just the 24th player in NBA history to wear No. 77. The short list of notable names includes All-Star Luka Dončić, Gheorghe Mureșan, Andrea Bargnani, and Ersan İlyasova.

Interestingly enough, out of the 23 players in NBA history to have worn the number, 10 of them were international players, which far outweighs the actual percentage of international players who play in the league. 

While the number had relatively flown under the radar, children all over the world are now wearing No. 77 jerseys, as Doncic recently became the first international player in NBA history to have the league's highest-selling jersey. Doncic’s jersey sales takeover also indicated a sign of the league’s dynamic changing, since it was the first time in over a decade that LeBron James or Stephen Curry didn’t have the league’s highest-selling jersey.

It may be an uncommon number, but this surprisingly won’t be the first time that a Nets player has worn it. Muresan appeared in 30 games and two starts with the New Jersey Nets during the 1999-2000 NBA season, averaging 3.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field and 60.5% from the free-throw line. Besides Saraf and Muresan, only three Nets players (DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Collins and DeAndre' Membry) have worn higher numbers.

In the sports realm, numbers as high as 77 usually aren’t touched by basketball players and are usually reserved for offensive linemen. However, Nets fans will now get to watch an international player of their own wear the number in hopes of him eventually becoming the next NBA star to rock those digits.