Ben Saraf has worn No. 77 often along his basketball journey, and the 26th pick in the 2025 NBA draft will continue that trend next season with the Brooklyn Nets.

Saraf donned that jersey number last season with ratiopharm Ulm in the German League and with Elitzur Kiryat Ata during the previous year in Israel. He has also worn it while representing Israel at the international level, most recently in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket qualifiers.

The 19-year-old is set to become the second player in franchise history to wear No. 77, becoming the first to do so since Gheorghe Mureșan in the 1999-00 season. He chose it because 77 is the Hebrew numerical value for mazal, which means luck.

Saraf averaged 12 points, 4.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals on 44.4%% shooting from the field in 60 games last season. He registered six 20-point games, including a 20-point, four-assist performance in the German League Finals on June 21.

The 6-foot-7 guard debuted with the Nets in the NBA Summer League, averaging seven points, 3.7 assists, two rebounds and one steal in three appearances. He finished off his stay with an 11-point performance on July 15 in a loss to New York.

Saraf is among a crowded draft class for the Nets, joining Egor Dёmin (eighth pick), Nolan Traoré (19th pick), Drake Powell (22nd pick) and Danny Wolf (27th pick). The Nets became the first team in history to select five players in the first round of the draft.

Note: Throughout August, Rookie Wire is looking at every first-round pick and why each player selected their respective jersey number as they make the jump to the NBA.

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This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Nets' Ben Saraf reveals the reasoning behind wearing No. 77

Reporting by Cody Taylor, Rookie Wire / Rookie Wire

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