![\"Danny](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/user-expressly-acknowledges-agrees-downloading-124547210.jpg\")
Danny Wolf the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 22, 2026 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\nThe Nets have a staggering seven rookies \u2014 a record five of them first-round picks \u2014 and must develop every one they can to spur their rebuild.<\/p>\n
For injured Danny Wolf, the work doesn\u2019t end just because he\u2019s been shut down for the season. If anything it gets more intense.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously losing sucks, and every time you ask anyone, they\u2019re going to give you the same answer that losing is no fun.\u201d Wolf said. \u201cEveryone in the locker room from top to bottom thinks we could\u2019ve had a much better season. But within that, you have to find things you can learn from, that you can gain from.\u201d<\/p>\n
After suffering a season-ending left ankle sprain March 22, Wolf will end his debut campaign averaging 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.<\/p>\n
And from the moment the tanking Nets started leaning into their rookies on Feb. 5, the big man bumped those figures up to 10.8 points, 5.6 boards and 2.7 assists.<\/p>\n
Danny Wolf the Brooklyn Nets drives to the basket during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 22, 2026 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Wolf fell to 27th in the draft due to questions about his defense and shooting. He played defense at an NBA level, but his shooting is still very much in question, at a streaky 32.2 percent from deep.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s beyond question is that Wolf must learn to finish better at the rim.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, there were definitely a lot of people questioning who I\u2019d be able to guard. I took that as a chip on my shoulder to more than prove, but be a good defender,\u201d said Wolf.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shooting and the offense, it was nowhere near what I know I\u2019m capable of doing and that upsets me. I was able to shoot well at times, and there\u2019d be times where I felt I couldn\u2019t make a shot. That\u2019s a rookie season; there\u2019s going to be ups and downs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nowhere near enough ups at the rim, figuratively and literally.<\/p>\n
While Wolf is sizable at 6-foot-11, 255 pounds, his lack of vertical explosion has limited him. His 24-inch standing vertical was tied for third worst at the NBA Draft Combine, and has led to poor finishing against more athletic foes.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic [at this level],\u201d said Wolf. \u201cWhat is it that you need to do to be able to match that, but also be better than that?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/brooklyn-nets-forward-danny-wolf-124234441.jpg\")
Nets forward Danny Wolf (2) grabs his ankle in pain during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Justine Willard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Where Wolf has to be better is at the rim, where he shot just 54 percent. That\u2019s just 12th percentile among forwards, per Cleaning The Glass. It\u2019s an Achilles\u2019 heel he needs to fix, offseason work that\u2019s already begun.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously the numbers speak for themselves; I was nowhere near where I wanted to be or could have been. And finishing, I did an OK job at times getting in my spots,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cA lot of it is getting stronger. And the positive outlook of an injury [is] I\u2019ve been able to really hone in on the weight room more than I would\u2019ve been able to if I was playing.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI have a good four or five months of weight room ahead of me and just being able to fill out my frame better. That\u2019ll really help me, just getting stronger; and with that, more explosive. And I know my rim finishing next year, I\u2019ll be able to look back on this year and see that it was something that really, really helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Wolf is focused on his body, coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez is counting on growth through reps and technique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a combination of a lot of things,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cOne is experience, right? The reps, the game slowing down. A lot of times you just rush. We tell guys, \u2018Hey, just play off two feet and don\u2019t leave your feet.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he\u2019s done a great job and he\u2019s been able to implement a lot of stuff, power through, because you have better balance, finding a body first. This all comes with a lot of work, watching film and through the summer and then the real reps. So the process [has] already started. He\u2019s already gotten better. We\u2019re not concerned about his finishing. We know it has to get better, but we also know it will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nets have a staggering seven rookies \u2014 a record five of them first-round picks \u2014 and must…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,6,671,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-700933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklynnets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nets","14":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}