Manifestation works in strange ways.
Before Brooklyn’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, rookie forward Danny Wolf admitted he’d been half-joking with teammates that he might go out and dunk on somebody. But when a lane opened for him with 2:03 left in regulation, the joke suddenly had a chance to become real. He attacked the rim with force, rose up with authority and caught a body.
DANNY WOLF THROWS IT DOWN 💪
Brooklyn leads in the 4Q: https://t.co/ncRdJ4zvFl pic.twitter.com/KJtaqsZHLe
— NBA (@NBA) December 2, 2025
Wolf, all 6-11 and 252 pounds of him, needed only one dribble to glide from the 3-point line to the basket. Then he unloaded a vicious right-handed slam over Miles Bridges, one of the league’s most explosive leapers. There was no howl, no over-the-top celebration. Wolf simply strutted along the baseline, arms swinging, owning the moment like he’d been there before while the Nets’ bench erupted and Barclays Center roared.
By Tuesday morning, Wolf’s emphatic jam had landed at No. 3 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays. It also put an exclamation point on Brooklyn’s first home win of the season and marked the first victory of Wolf’s NBA career where he played a meaningful role. But for all the promise Wolf had shown in his last two outings, including a career-high 22 points against the Bucks on Saturday, nobody expected that.
“I didn’t know he had it in him, honestly, so it caught me off guard,” Nic Claxton said. “But, I mean, that was a magnificent dunk.”
Plays like that go a long way toward earning respect in the locker room. And as Wolf’s minutes continue to grow, both the Nets and the rest of the league are starting to see exactly what the former Michigan standout can do.
“I’ve said it multiple times, that Danny is one of my favorite rookies that I’ve ever played with,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “From Day 1 in training camp, he surprised me with his ability to handle the ball, the way he moves quick on his feet, the way he can pass, the way he can shoot. So, being out there with him [tonight] was really, really fun. It was my first time on the floor with him, so I think he’s growing up.”
The dunk wasn’t even the most impressive part of Wolf’s night in Brooklyn’s 116-103 win. The 21-year-old saw the floor early but didn’t make much of an impact through two quarters, then sat the entire third. Instead of sulking, he answered in a big way. Wolf erupted in the fourth, scoring all 10 of his points on 4-for-6 shooting and grabbing five rebounds to help the Nets pull away.
Brooklyn led by only six entering the final frame and would usually lean on Porter’s scoring to close out a game like this. But on Monday, the fourth quarter belonged to Wolf. He stayed ready when his number was called and caught fire exactly when the Nets needed him most.
“It’s kind of the mindset you have to have, especially as a rookie in my shoes,” Wolf said. “Obviously I had a pretty good game against Milwaukee, and coming into [Monday], Mike’s healthy again and you don’t really know what it’s going to look like… You look at that as an opportunity, and [Jordi] is big on opportunities, and just being ready and doing what I can to help the team win.”
