This season, two former Bulldogs, including first-round draft pick Danny Wolf, are beginning their professional careers.
Audrey Kim & Inez Chuidian 4:29 am, Oct 24, 2025
Contributing Reporters
Yale Athletics
The National Basketball Association had its tip off earlier this week, marking the start of two rookie campaigns by Yale basketball alumni: Bez Mbeng ’25 and Danny Wolf, once a member of the class of 2026.
Wolf played for the Bulldogs for two seasons before transferring to Michigan for his junior year. He was a standout center for Yale his sophomore year, helping the men’s basketball team win the Ivy League Championship and earn a spot in the NCAA March Madness playoffs, where Yale advanced to the second round after upsetting Auburn.
Following his junior season at the University of Michigan, Wolf declared for the 2025 NBA draft and was selected in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets as the 27th overall pick.
“You could certainly see that the IQ on the court was something that stood out for Danny,” Justin Gallanty, a former ESPN play-by-play announcer, said in a phone interview. “But more than anything else, a guy who’s seven feet who can bring the ball up the court, distribute to his teammates, shoot from the outside, operate on the inside, is something that is pretty unique in the game of basketball.”
Gallanty said that Wolf started as a guard early in his basketball career but experienced a sudden growth spurt by the time he was suiting up for Yale. This gave Wolf a unique combination of traits: He had the skills required of a guard, but the build required of a power forward or center. His diverse skillset would set him up for success once he fully grew into his body.
With the Nets looking to rebuild and their coaches’ intentions to get creative with Wolf’s diverse skillset, Wolf is in a position to continue developing his unique playstyle and begin seeing the court more often, Gallanty said.
“If you look at the guy who’s, according to most people, the best player in the NBA right now, Nikola Jokić for the Nuggets, he has a lot of the same skills that Danny brings to the table being a six-eleven, seven-foot guy who does the majority of the ball handling for his team,” Gallanty said. “The sort of the things that Danny is able to do on the basketball court we’ve seen translate really well in the NBA.”
Nets Head Coach Jordi Fernandez has said he is aware of the similarities between Wolf and Jokic and hopes to let Wolf explore his full potential as a nontraditional player. The experience Fernandez gained while coaching Jokić as an assistant to Nuggets head coach Mike Malone could prove key to facilitating Wolf’s growth.
“Hopefully, he’ll be somebody in the NBA that is similar to who he was in college, it was somebody who’s not only really good himself, but also makes his teammates better,” Gallanty said about Wolf’s potential as both a solo and team player.
Mbeng — who played alongside Wolf for two years — is another former Bulldog star now transitioning to NBA life. As the 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year and the record-holder for most basketball steals in Yale history, Mbeng is a dynamic and physical player.
In his senior year, Mbeng led the Bulldogs to an Ivy League Championship while scoring double-figures 23 times and notching three 20-point games. Mbeng finished his college career with 1,189 points and 449 assists.
On Oct. 14, Mbeng signed with the Miami Heat.
“Getting signed to the Heat was an unbelievable feeling,” Mbeng wrote to the News. “Being given the opportunity to develop my game, and knowing that they believe in me to be given this opportunity means so much — especially from one of the most storied franchises in NBA history.”
Mbeng’s signing this fall follows his summer stint with the Golden State Warriors, where he competed in the California Classic and NBA Summer League. Mbeng has spent most of his summer season in training camp.
“I was super thankful to be given the opportunity to be around such an inspiring environment.” Mbeng wrote. “My time spent in Miami was amazing and I will be playing with their G league team to begin the year.”
The G League is the NBA’s development league where teams send players to improve skills and prepare for call-ups to the main roster. The Heat’s G League team “The Sioux Falls Skyforce” competes alongside 31 other teams in the division.
Nick Townsend ’26, a current senior on the Yale men’s basketball team, described Mbeng as an athlete who “played with a special intensity.”
“I’m definitely going to miss playing with him this year, but I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes,” Townsend said.
Mbeng credited his four years at Yale for shaping his mindset heading into the NBA.
“Yale helped me nurture my work ethic, and that is definitely something that I will carry over to prepare for the next level,” Mbeng said.
Wolf and the Nets will next face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 24, and Mbeng can expect to make his G league debut at the Tip Off Tournament on Nov. 7.
AUDREY KIM
INEZ CHUIDIAN