Nets rookie Danny Wolf running with his first NBA opportunity

It was all premeditated, no matter how much Danny Wolf said it was a joke. 

Prior to Monday’s clash with the Hornets, the rookie was going around to his Nets teammates, telling them he was going to “catch a body,” he admitted after the 116-103 win.

He felt like he had missed out on an opportunity in Saturday’s game against Milwaukee. So, as the Nets held the lead in the fourth quarter, Wolf saw an opening and took it. 

With nearly two minutes to play, Egor Dëmin passed the ball off to Wolf at the top of the key. Unguarded, he sprinted down the lane for a poster dunk over Miles Bridges. The Nets bench was thrown into hysterics.

Both Nic Claxton and Michael Porter Jr. ran over for a chest bump with the No. 27 pick. 

“I mean, I didn’t know he had it in him,” Claxton said. “Honestly, it caught me off guard, but it was a magnificent dunk… He manifested it before the game. He told me and Day’Ron [Sharpe] ‘I’m gonna catch me one, too.’ He went out and did it.”

“I’ve seen it in practice,” coach Jordi Fernández added. “I’m very happy for him… Those are big-time energy plays. That’s for all his teammates, for the crowd.”

The 21-year-old forward, who was called up from G-League Long Island when Porter was sidelined for two games with lower back tightness, has taken the long-awaited NBA opportunity and run with it. 

He recorded all 10 of his points on Monday in the final frame after not playing in the third quarter, and it led to his first NBA win and the first home victory for the Nets this season.

In three games, the Michigan product has averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 44 percent shooting.

“Obviously coming into the NBA, you don’t really know exactly the fine details as to what you’re getting yourself into,” Wolf said. “I mean, I look back on the first month, and you’re not getting the opportunity and you’re sitting on the bench. You just have that itch to play. I think going down to Long Island, the coaching and front office told me that how you look at it is what you’re gonna get out of it. That’s what I’ve said from Day 1 and credit to a lot of the guys who kind of passed that mindset on to me.”

Terance Mann (right rib soreness) has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game in Chicago. 

With Porter healthy, Wolf’s minutes will vary, but he has made a case to stay in Brooklyn for the near future.