Danny Wolf’s rise in Brooklyn has come fast, and it has come with production. The 6-foot-11 forward has gone from barely seeing the floor in October to carving out a real place in the Nets’ rotation, and now he’s starting to look like a piece coach Jordi Fernández can trust.
That trust was earned in last Wednesday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets, when Wolf put up 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three, along with five rebounds and three assists. He also finished possessions by closing over Julius Randle, the starting power forward. Fernández responded by giving him a starting nod in the next three games.
Wolf has made that opportunity count. Over those three starts, he has averaged 10.3 points on 36/37.5/70.6 splits, eight rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32 minutes. He followed the Charlotte game with an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in last Saturday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, then added another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
His impact has gone beyond the box score. Wolf’s size is helping Brooklyn create more half-court possessions, and his shooting has opened up the floor for a team that ranks 13th in 3-point shooting. He has also shown real playmaking touch over the last four games, taking some of the ball-handling burden off Randle and finding open corner shooters or a cutting teammate.
For Brooklyn, that matters. The offense has looked cleaner with Wolf on the court, and his second-season jump suggests the offseason work is finally showing up in games.
Wolf is also part of the Flatbush Five, the group of five 2025 first-round picks selected by general manager Sean Marks. Two of those rookies, Nolan Traoré and Egor Dëmin, have already made noticeable leaps this season and are both in the starting lineup.
Wolf, by contrast, was slower to get rolling. He played just two games in October and totaled 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 27 minutes.
The shooting numbers were encouraging in that tiny sample, but he still wasn’t moving up the depth chart, which led Brooklyn to send him to the G League on Oct. 28 for practice with the Long Island Nets. He was called back after that stint, and the extra reps appear to have mattered.
The timing of his breakout has only made it look better. It has come alongside two of Brooklyn’s most impressive wins, a strong sign for a second-year forward still fighting to secure his place.
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