According to reports circulating on the web Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets will play Hapoel Jerusalem of Israel in a preseason game at Barclays Center on October 4.
The reports are likely accurate, per a league source.
Basketball News Australia was first with the news...
An early season showdown across the ocean.
— BASKETBALL NEWS AUSTRALIA (@AusBballnews) July 30, 2025
Hapoel Jerusalem will face the Brooklyn Nets — featuring Ben Sharaf and Danny Wolf — on October 4 in the US. #hapoeljerusalem #brooklynnets #preseasonhoops pic.twitter.com/ici68cQ3R3
It’s the
second time in three years that the Nets have opened preseason vs. an Israeli team. In 2023, Brooklyn opened vs. Maccabi Ra’anana at Barclays.
The Nets of course drafted two players with Israeli passports back-to-back in June — Ben Saraf at No. 26 and Danny Wolf at No. 27 — but NBA preseason games are set up months in advance so it’s unlikely the draft selections had anything to do with the preseason schedule or vice-versa.
Still, with Saraf and Wolf having played for Israel’s national teams in the past, they will likely be a big focus of the game. Indeed, Nets podcasters report that since the Draft, up to five percent of their audience comes from Israel.
Also, it’s near certain that the game will attract protests over Israel’s war in Gaza, which has been described as a genocide by a widening range of national and world political leaders.
Historically, Hapoel Jerusalem has been one of the Israel’s top teams. They currently play in both Israel’s Winner League and the multi-nation Eurocup.
The Nets already have two preseason games scheduled, vs. the Phoenix Suns, on December 10 and 12 in Macao, part of NBA China for 2025.
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