The Long Island Nets kicked off their 2025-26 season on Friday night, facing off against the Capital City Go-Go at the Nassau Coliseum. The game would be about as competitive as it gets, with each team
getting the better of one another throughout. However, in the end, Long Island would walk away with the hard-fought victory, 109-102.
But that wasn’t the big news, of course. This season, more than any in the 10-year history of the Nets G League affiliate, is about development and by night’s end, fans in Brooklyn as well as Long Island had to be pleased with the result, as as they were at Barclays Center with the play of Egor Demin and Noah Clowney.
Brooklyn sent three of the five first round picks — the Flatbush 5 — to Uniondale for playing time and two of them — Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf — looked very good and even Nolan Traore, the sixth youngest of the 539 players on NBA contracts, had his moments.
Chief among them was Saraf, the 6’6” combo guard the Nets took with the 26th pick in the 2025 Draft.
There were a number of factors that played into the win but none were bigger than Ben Saraf’s history-making performance. Saraf came off the bench for Long Island in this one and made a little bit franchise history as he became the first bench player to notch more 20 points in his debut. Saraf finished with 21 points, which led the team, and connected on seven of his 13 shot attempts. He also connected on one of his three from deep, and connected on four of his six shots from the foul line.
However, Saraf’s big offensive output didn’t just stop at the points. The 19-year-old Israeli also picked up four rebounds and three assists, getting his teammates involved. To round out his impressive day, Saraf picked up two steals and even had a block to his credit.
“It’s who he is,” Long Island head coach Mfon Udofia tells ND of Saraf. “Whether he starts or he comes off the bench, he wants to play. He finished the game, and he didn’t complain, not for one minute. He just had fun, had great camaraderie with his teammates, and shared the ball, moved the ball, so it was good to see. Happy he made history.”
For fellow rookie Danny Wolf, it was a tale of two halves as well as two cities. The first half was one that he’d like to forget, as he only connected on two of his 10 shot attempts, including whiffing on all three of his shots from deep. He also turned the ball over three times in the half and picked up two personal fouls. He looked to be a liability for Long Island.
However, at halftime, something clicked for the near 7-footer, and the second half was all Wolf’s game. The 21-year-old, taken one spot after Saraf in the Draft, finished with a double-double, picking up 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also had two assists, two steals, and two blocks. His 15 points were good enough for fourth-best on the team. To Wolf’s credit, he went into the half knowing he had to fix something; he fixed it and had a hell of a second half. Wolf became the eighth player in franchise history to record a double-double in his first career G League game.
“Obviously, getting the win was great. It wasn’t the prettiest of games on a lot of fronts, but we were able to guard the ball in the second half, and that’s what led us to getting the victory,” Wolf told ND. “For myself, especially, in the first half just kind of getting sped up and was just trying to do a little bit too much, and then I settled in in the second half. I got to my spots, and my shots just weren’t falling. I have to live with that and trust my work… My teammates picked it up, and a lot of the guys had a great game, so that was a good one.”
While he no doubt liked his own numbers, Wolf said it was the win that mattered.
“I don’t care about stats. I got to my spots, and just some of the shots I threw that I was comfortable with were falling, and just continuing to rebound the ball,” Wolf continues. “Especially when I’m a five. Even at the forward, just rebound the ball, throw it in, start the break, and again, the one that really matters is the win.”
“It was great, like you said, the tale of two halves,” Udofia said. “Our big thing with Danny is he just has to play hard for 48 minutes. He has to rebound at a high level, sprint the floor at a high level, and have ball pressure at a high level. He did that in the second half. He didn’t worry about the offense so much; he just wanted to do the little things, and he did a really good job in the second half. I’m just happy for him.”
The third piece of the Flatbush 5, Nolan Traore, had a hot-and-cold game for Long Island. He got the start, alongside Wolf, and connected on just four of his 16 shots, for 12 points. However, he made some adjustments and got his teammates involved, finishing the game with seven assists, which led the team. Traore also finished the game with two rebounds, but also had four turnovers, one behind Wolf.
Following the game, ND had the chance to catch up with Traore and speak about his first game with Long Island, his hopes for the season, and what it meant for him to get his teammates involved and lead the team in the assists category.
“It was great to play with this team,” Traore said . “We have some good guys… I had fun and we got the win.” Traore also tells ND that his major goal, whether it be with Brooklyn or Long Island, is to get better every day.“ For Traore, it’s also important to get his teammates involved. ”I’m just running the right play every time, so I’m glad that I can help the team win and I think that’s a good thing.“
Returning player Tre Scott picked up 18 points, connecting on 8 of his nine shots. Nate Williams, the 6’6” wing who the Nets acquired in the trade for Drew Timme, also had an impressive performance, picking up 18 points of his own, landing three of his six shots from deep. Yuri Collins, the G League’s best playmaker last season, had a quiet game by his standards, finishing with only eight points and four assists.
The Long Island team had a hard time slowing down Capital City’s Alondes Williams, a former Nets two-way and Tyler Williams, who scored 24 and 23 points, respectively.
Long Island’s bench got off to a strong start in the first quarter, outscoring Capital City’s reserves 17-7 to close the quarter ahead by a point, 26-25. Capital City battled back in the second frame, outscoring Long Island 38-28 in the period. The Go-Go closed the first half ahead by nine, 63-54.
In the third, Capital City, came back, outscoring Long Island 29-20 to erase the Go-Go’s 14-point lead and tie the game at 83 heading into the final frame. The Nets pulled away in the fourth, outscoring the Go-Go 26-19 behind Ben Saraf’s 11 points in the period. It’s not an exaggeration to say Saraf simply took over. Long Island finished with 33 points off turnovers, marking the most points scored off turnovers in a season opener ever and went on to defeat Capital City.
Final score: Long Island Nets 109, Capital City Go-Go 102.
All in all, this was a very positive first step for Long Island. Not the prettiest game, but Long Island got it done on the backs of their vauned rookies. “We just have to keep getting better,” coach Udofia told NetsDaily. “It’s going to be a daily approach and just keep getting 1% better every day, and we’ll go from there.”
Next Up
Long Island returns to the court on Sunday, November 9th, at the Nassau Coliseum as they face off with the Capital City Go Go in a rematch. The game tips off at 3:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on NBA TV and the Gotham Sports app.
