Daniel Abraham Wolf (born May 5, 2004) is an American-Israeli

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the college sports teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA national championships ...

and

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. At Yale, he earned 2024 first-team All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

honors, the 2024 Ivy League tournament

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

, and led the league in rebounds and blocks per game. At Michigan, he was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2025, leading the conference in rebounds per game. He competed for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

at the

2023 FIBA U20 European Championship The 2023 FIBA U20 European Championship was the 24th edition of the European basketball championship for men's national under-20 teams. It was played from 8 to 16 July 2023 in Heraklion, Greece. Participating teams * * * (Third place, 2022 FI ...

, winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

and earning an all-tournament team selection.

Early and personal life

Wolf was born in

Glencoe, Illinois Glencoe () is a lakefront village in northeastern Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,849. Glencoe is part of Chicago's North Shore and one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. According to t ...

, in the United States. His oldest brother, Josh, played basketball at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

, and his other older brother, Jake, plays basketball at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. His father is 6' 8" and his mother is 5' 10". Danny is 7 feet (2.13 m) tall and weighs 250 pounds (113 kg).

High school career

Wolf attended

Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest Academy (also known as LFA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States ...

for three years before transferring to

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School (abbreviated as NMH), is a co-educational college-preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts. It educates boarding and day students in grades 9–12, as well as post-graduate students. It is a member of the Eight ...

for his senior year, where he helped the team reach the finals in both the NEPSAC Triple-A championship and the national prep championship. Under his leadership, the team was ranked number 11 in the country for the majority of the season. Additionally, he received a

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

nomination, and was a three-star recruit. He committed to playing college basketball for

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

because of the elite combination of academics and basketball that the school provided.

College career

Yale

In his freshman season at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, 2022–23, Wolf primarily played for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

as a backup to forwards EJ Jarvis, Isaiah Kelly, and Matt Knowling, averaging 2.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 blocks. His best performances came in the final two games of the regular season, where he averaged seven points, five rebounds, one steal and one block. After the season, he received Yale's John C. Cobb Award, which is given to the team’s rookie of the year. At the start of his sophomore season, 2023–24, Wolf moved into a starting role and became the focal point of the Bulldogs’ offense. On November 19, 2023, he posted then-career-highs 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in an overtime win over Gardner-Webb University. Wolf’s play earned him the Ivy League Player of the Week five times, including three straight from January 23, 2024, to February 12. During that stretch, he averaged 17.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks, leading the Bulldogs to an undefeated record during the span. Wolf became just the seventh player in Ivy League history to earn five Player of the Week awards in a single season. In 2023–24, Wolf led the

with 310 rebounds, 247 defensive rebounds, 9.7 rebounds per game, and 1.3 blocks per game. He finished the year averaging 14.1 points per game (10th in the league), had 43 blocks (second), 63 offensive rebounds, 176 field goals (third), a .472 field goal percentage (fourth) and 33 steals (tenth). He earned unanimous first team All-Ivy honors and a

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

District 13 first-team selection, as well as being named the most outstanding player in the Ivy League tournament.

Michigan

On April 20, 2024, Wolf transferred to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

to play for the

Wolverines The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine ...

in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. On November 4, 2024, in his first game with Michigan against

Cleveland State Cleveland State University (CSU) is a Public university, public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school th ...

, Wolf led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while adding three blocks, three steals and two assists. In the seventh game of the season against Xavier, Wolf had his third double-double of the season, leading all players with 20 points and 14 rebounds as Michigan became the Fort Myers Tip-Off champions. In the next game against

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, Wolf scored 20 points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and recorded a game-high five assists, three steals and five blocked shots. On January 4, 2025 against

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Wolf had 21 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and a career-high six blocks, earning his seventh double-double of the season. On January 16 against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Wolf scored a season-high 23 points with ten rebounds and seven assists; his eighth double-double with Michigan. On February 5 against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, he had 15 points and 12 rebounds, leading all Big Ten players with ten double-doubles through 22 games. In March, Wolf was named a finalist for the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation’s best

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

each season. He also earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, selected by both the coaches and media, and was named to the all-tournament team after leading Michigan to a Big Ten championship in the 2025 Big Ten tournament. He was joined by teammate Vlad Goldin, Derik Queen, John Blackwell and John Tonje. In the 2025 NCAA tournament, Wolf was named to the south regional all-tournament team, along with Johni Broome, Tahaad Pettiford, Jase Richardson and Sean Pedulla. As a junior, Wolf averaged 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. He led the Big Ten in rebounding and in double-doubles, finishing in a tie with Julian Reese and Derik Queen with 15 double-doubles. On April 16, Wolf announced he would forgo his senior season and declared for the 2025 NBA draft.

Team Israel career

While from the United States, Wolf’s Jewish background and heritage allow him to compete for team Israel as a

naturalized citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

. In his first national-level competition, Wolf represented Israel at the

in Greece. While playing for Israel’s national under-20 team, he averaged 17.7 points (second in the tournament), a tournament-high 12.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game (ninth); leading team Israel to a second-place

, and recognized for his stellar play by being named to the all-tournament team.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .404 , , .304 , , .625 , , 2.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 31 , , 30.8 , , .472 , , .345 , , .717 , , 9.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;",

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, 37 , , 37 , , 30.5 , , .497 , , .336 , , .594 , , 9.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 1.4 , , 13.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"
Career
, 90 , , 68 , , 25.2 , , .479 , , .336 , , .646 , , 7.9 , , 2.5 , , 0.7 , , 1.1 , , 11.1

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bioYale Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Danny 2004 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Israeli sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cook County, Illinois Centers (basketball) Israeli men's basketball players Israeli people of American-Jewish descent Jewish American basketball players Jews from Illinois Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Northfield Mount Hermon School alumni People from Glencoe, Illinois Power forwards Yale Bulldogs men's basketball players