Ben Saraf Earns Spot on Israel's EuroBasket Preliminary Team

The Nets' No. 26 pick will represent Israel's national team for the second time in his career.

Apr 19, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view of a NBA Wilson basketball before the game between the LA Clippers against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

On the same day that Saraf signed his rookie contract with the Nets, it is announced that he will play for Israel in the 2025 EuroBasket preliminary round.

Saraf will join the Portland Trailblazer's Deni Avdija on the roster, but not fellow Nets rookie Danny Wolf. Israel can only add one naturalized player to its roster and went with Hapoel Jerusalem guard Khadeen Carrington instead.

Saraf played in four games for Israel in the 2025 EuroBasket qualifiers in November 2024 to February 2025. He averaged 8.3 points, 3 assists and 1.5 steals in 17.2 minutes per game.

He also starred for Israel in U18 EuroBasket in 2024 where he averaged 28.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4 steals per game. Saraf showed his ability to shoot from three in his seven games, shooting 36.2% from behind the arc on 6.7 attempts per game.

This will also be Saraf's first chance to team up with Avdija, an Israeli forward who is excelling in the NBA. Even though the two have had little to no interactions together, the bond between countrymen is clearly strong now that they are in the same league.

“So proud, welcome to the Association” — Deni Avdija congratulates countryman Ben Saraf on Instagram https://t.co/iUbddn2q2U pic.twitter.com/x0L5Rul7kp

— Louis Keene (@thislouis) June 26, 2025

The preliminary round of EuroBasket 2025 will begin on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. Israel is in group D of the tournament and will be playing in Katowice, Poland. The other countries in group D are Iceland, Poland, France, Belgium and Slovenia. Israel's first game is against Iceland on Thursday, August 28.

"I've been playing professionally for three years now," Saraf said in the Nets rookie introductory press conference. "I think it's going to be helpful knowing how to manage my body so things can translate right away to the NBA."

Saraf has the most professional experience in the Nets rookie class and is slated to play even more in the coming months. Before he touches the EuroBasket floor again, he will suit up for the Nets in Summer League and show what he can do against the league's young talent.