Ben Saraf 2025 NBA Draft Profile

Ben Saraf 2025 NBA Draft Profile

Time is flying by! We are less than two weeks away from the 2025 NBA Draft! Today, we will be previewing guard Ben Saraf, one of the best international prospects in this class! Let’s jump right into it!

Height (no shoes): 6’5 (unofficial; 6’7.5 wingspan)

Draft Age: 19.2

Position: Guard

Saraf began his professional career with Elitzur Netanya B.C. in the Israeli League at 16-years-old, but didn’t join the team in the primary league until June of 2023. In his first full season, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game, shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor with a true shooting percentage of 46.6 percent.

Saraf played with Team Israel during the FIBA U18 EuroCup, winning the league MVP after averaging 28.1 points on 44.7/36.2/75.9 shooting splits across seven competitions. He eventually parlayed that into his best season as a pro at 18-years-old, averaging 12.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game across 54 games.

Let’s jump into his profile, shall we?!

Strengths:

As we’re speaking, Saraf is playing in Game 5 of the German League playoffs with a chance to play FC Bayern Munich in the championship round, which may not conclude until after the draft.

One thing Saraf has consistently shown on tape is that he has a legit ceiling as a playmaker.

He’s one of the best manipulators in this class. His processing speed when he’s in the pick-and-roll is excellent. He’s not afraid to throw a (left-handed) skip pass if a defense takes away the roll, but he uses his eyes very well when trying to manipulate those weak-side tag defenders. He doesn’t hijack an offense and properly picks his spots to attack.

Saraf’s rebounding numbers don’t pop off the screen, but I think he’s a solid rebounder for his position. He has a nose for the basketball and isn’t afraid to crash the glass, even though I do have questions about his vertical athleticism (more on that below).

He’s got a good first step with a right handle when he plays off the catch. The 6-foot-5 guard plays with good pace and knows when to decelerate when he gets into the lane.

Off-ball, Saraf’s a far better spot-up shooter than he is a pull-up jump shooter. His mechanics are more sound with those reps, with a far more consistent touch. He moves around off-ball and can flow off pindowns and zoom actions from the right side. Furthermore, he’s also a willing screener to free up his teammates and doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact.

Saraf plays with an edge. He’s fiery. I love that competitive demeanor in players. He’s not going to take plays or games off. He knows how to orchestrate an offense and he’s a communicator on both ends of the floor.

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Weaknesses:

While Saraf has a creative bag around the rim, he’s not good at finishing through contact nor does he have much explosion. He tries to be a little too crafty for his own good. Combine that with the fact that he doesn’t explode vertically, and he’s opening himself up to a ton of shots potentially getting swatted at the next level, which isn’t an encouraging sign.

He’s always going to try to get to his left hand. Even when the 19-year-old takes a couple of dribbles to his right, he’ll use a right-left cross or a spin move to get back to his left. I don’t think his handle is poor, but he doesn’t have any other counters and his propensity to only go left is a concern. That’s going to be scouted.

I have genuine concerns about Saraf’s ability to be a pull-up jump shooter. Mechanically, his reps are wildly inconsistent, throwing off his touch; on one possession, his base and form will look good, but on another, he’ll lower half will fly all over the place and he’ll airball it. His upper half (elbow) shoots out as well.

Saraf knows how to get to his spots, but his pull-up shooting will need to be cleaned up, especially from 3-point range and on long 2s.

He’s physical at the point-of-attack with solid instincts, but I do wonder how his defense will translate against NBA-level athletes. I think he can be an average defender. Off-ball, there are times when he gets caught ball-watching, but he does a good job rotating and being in the right spots.

Projection: Top-20 Pick

If you’re a team looking for a point guard with good positional size in the mid-to-late first round, you should have no problem turning in the card for Saraf. He’s going to have to improve as a shooter and he’s going to be more physical, but I have confidence that he can run an NBA offense Day 1. I like his game a lot. I hate comparisons, but he reminds me a ton of Goran Dragic.

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