Basketball is one of the most beloved sports among Americans. People even make marriage proposals at basketball games. The Brooklyn Nets have become a favorite among Brooklynites. What was the process of their formation? Learn more at i-brooklyn.
Foundation of the giant
The club was founded in 1967 by magnate Arthur Brown. The team began its journey in the American Basketball Association, under the name New York Americans. At first, the team played on the territory of the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan’s East Side. But before the start of the championship, they lost their home arena and had to move to New Jersey. The team was renamed the New Jersey Americans.
Despite Brown’s involvement, the club was not doing so well. As the team did not have their own “home,” they had to wander from stadium to stadium, which prevented them from making it to the playoffs. The location they chose for a game against the Kentucky Colonels did not satisfy the latter, and they refused to play. As a result, the Nets lost technically.
Brown was finally able to solve the problem with the home arena. They permanently moved to the Commack Arena. But besides a “home,” the team needed star players. Lew Alcindor was supposed to be the first big player for the Nets. However, he chose the Milwaukee Bucks because they had a more profitable offer. The Nets failed their first season and took last place. They won 17 out of 78 games. Brown finally lost faith in the team and sold them to industrial magnate Roy Boe. With his arrival, the team began to flourish. They had new players, moved to the Island Garden Arena and reached their first playoff for the first time.
Successful season
During the years 1971-1972, the Nets became important players in the basketball arena. They established themselves as strong competitors. They managed to reach the ABA finals, where they lost 2-4. But it was still their personal victory.
A proficient coach and a good roster are two important things for any sports team. When the team’s main star, Barry, left, tough times came for the Nets.
Between 1973 and 1974, the team signed a contract with Julius Erving. He became their new star and brought new victories. They finished the season with 55 wins and 29 losses. Erving helped the team become ABA champions and defeat the New York Knicks.
In the following season, the team changed their lineup, thus putting Erving in a more advantageous position, which helped achieve new victories. Staying on top was difficult, even Erving’s successes didn’t always help.
The victories brought not only success but also problems to the Nets. The team’s financial situation got worse when they became part of the NBA. It cost them 8 million dollars, 3.2 million to the NBA and 4.8 million to the New York Knicks for the right to play in New York. The team didn’t have such a sum, so they tried to cut Erving’s salary, but he refused. As a result, the club “sold” Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers for 3 million dollars.
Back to the origins
Erving’s transfer was the reason the team failed to enter the NBA. In the new season, they lost with a record of 22 wins against 60 losses.
The team was forced to move back to New Jersey for the 77/78 season. But this did not save the situation, as the team kept losing the games as well as their spectators. They were the worst team in the NBA. In 1978, Boe sold them to the Hudson Seven, a group of local businessmen, and things started to get better.
In 1981, the team moved to Izod Center (then known as Brendan Byrne Arena). Larry Brown became their new coach. He made extensive player rearrangements that resulted in 44 wins and 38 losses. The next season was successful for the players. The new player, Darryl Dawkins, became a “breath of fresh air” for the team. However, his transfer caused significant stress and led to the team’s elimination from the playoffs.
The team quickly rehabilitated and continued on a steady course towards victory. However, player injuries caused some imbalance in the number of victories.
The main center player of the Nets, Darryl Dawkins, suffered a serious injury, which affected the team’s success. Although they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, the team made it to the playoffs. This defeat marked the start of a dark period for the team. Over the next six seasons, they could not reach the playoffs. Dawkins sustained a recurring back injury, leading to 24 victories and 58 losses. This was the club’s worst result since 1980.
The team management exchanged Dawkins for two other players. However, this did not help the team. Even the change of three coaches in the 97/98 season did not bring new victories. The team showed the best results in their history since joining the NBA. The club had high expectations for the NBA, but they couldn’t meet them. Numerous rotations of coaches and players did not change the situation.
Starting a new life and moving to Brooklyn
The end of the 90s was an important stage for the team. The management decided to start everything from scratch. John Calipari became the head coach. The coaching staff tried new player rotation options. In the 97-98 season, the team managed to make it back to the playoffs. There, they played in the finals against a team from Chicago. The opponent was strong, and the Nets had no chance of winning. They lost with a score of 0:3 but did it with dignity.
In 1998, the Hudson Seven sold the team to the owners of the New York Yankees. The new owners decided to join these teams together. The idea was to combine the fans of the two teams, which would increase the number of spectators at the games. YankeeNets even launched their own TV channel, where they broadcast the games.
But the 98/99 season started off tough. The extensive changes couldn’t guarantee player safety. The Nets lost Sam Cassell due to injury. This led to a series of new player trades.
The game against Atlanta became one of the most traumatic in the history of the team. In 2000, Rod Thorn was elected as the new president of the club. In the same year, they poached Michael Jordan. He became the most famous player in the team’s history.
Thorn followed his usual working style. He immediately started recruiting talented ABA players from the 70s. They also recruited young players. All plans were ruined by the high rate of injuries among players, despite the promising start of the season.
The team’s management decided to make a major exchange of reserve players, as the Nets had older substitutes than other teams.
In 2012, the team finally moved to the Brooklyn Barclays Center sports arena. The team also got a new owner, Mikhail Prokhorov.
The 2012/2013 period was very successful for the team, with 11 wins and 4 losses. The then coach, Avery Johnson, was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. However, subsequent losses led to his dismissal. Before the All-Star Game, the team had a record of 31 wins to 22 losses. Overall, the season was successful. The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls.
Player injuries and new exchanges ruined the 2013/2014 season. Later, the team was able to normalize their performance.
Until 2023, the team did not experience any radical changes, except for replacing coaches, players and management. But almost every season, the Brooklyn Nets started off with uncertainty and poor performance. They somehow managed to improve their position by the middle of the games.
In the 2022/2023 season, the Brooklyn Nets were ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference list. After a victory over the Indiana Pacers and the dismissal of Steve Nash, Jacques Vaughn became the coach. During this season, the club achieved 12 victories in a row. However, their winning streak was interrupted by Chicago.
The Brooklyn team has a long history and an equally incredible future ahead of them.