Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other being the New York Knicks.
The club was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBA's rival league, the American Basketball Association. They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before relocating to Long Island, New York, in 1968 and changing their name to the New York Nets. During this time, the Nets won two ABA championships, led by Hall of Famer Julius Erving. In 1976, the ABA merged with the NBA, and the Nets were absorbed into the NBA along with three other ABA teams, all of whom remain in the league to this day.
In 1977, the team returned to New Jersey and played as the New Jersey Nets from 1977 to 2012. Led by star point guard Jason Kidd, the Nets reached the NBA Finals in two consecutive NBA seasons, but failed to win a championship. In the summer of 2012, the team moved to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, becoming the first major sports franchise in the borough since the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team in 1957. Since moving to Brooklyn, the Nets have qualified for the playoffs on eight occasions, including trips to the conference semifinals in 2014 and 2021.
History
The Nets were founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans. In its early years, the team led a nomadic existence, moving to Long Island in 1968 and playing in various arenas there as the New York Nets.Led by Hall of Famer Julius Erving, the Nets won two ABA championships in New York before becoming one of four ABA teams to be admitted into the NBA as part of the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. Unlike the other three ABA teams entering the NBA, who played in cities without any NBA presence, the Nets were required to pay an "invasion fee" of $4.8million to the New York Knicks. The team was forced to finance that payment by selling Erving's contract to the Philadelphia 76ers; and the Nets went from winning the last ABA title in 1975–76 to having the worst record in the NBA in 1976–77. The team then moved back to New Jersey in 1977 and became the New Jersey Nets.
During their time in the state, the Nets played in two consecutive NBA Finals in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, led by All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd, whose arrival helped transform the team into a perennial playoff contender. The later acquisition of Vince Carter further strengthened the core that kept the Nets competitive in the Eastern Conference through the mid-2000s. After playing 35 seasons in New Jersey, the team moved back to the state of New York, changed its geographic name to Brooklyn, and began playing in the new Barclays Center, starting with the 2012–13 NBA season. The team's move from New Jersey to Brooklyn was approved unanimously by the NBA Board of Governors on April 13, 2012. Since the relocation, the team has struggled to achieve consistent success, as major roster overhauls, including the trade that helped bring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and the later acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, ultimately fell short of expectations.
Rivalries
Boston Celtics
During the early 2000s, the Nets were led by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, while the Boston Celtics were experiencing newfound success behind Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. The rivalry began to heat up in the conference finals of the 2002 playoffs, which was preceded by trash talking from the Celtics, who claimed Martin was a "fake" tough guy. Things progressed as the series started, and on-court tensions seemed to spill into the stands. Celtic fans berated Kidd and his family with chants of "Wife Beater!" in response to Kidd's 2001 domestic abuse charge. When the series returned to New Jersey, Nets fans responded, with some brandishing signs that read "Will someone please stab Paul Pierce?" referring to a night club incident in 2000 in which Pierce was stabbed 11 times. When asked about the fan barbs being traded, Kenyon Martin stated, "Our fans hate them, their fans hate us." Bill Walton said at the time that Nets–Celtics was the "beginning of the next great NBA rivalry" during the conference finals. Led by Kidd, the Nets advanced to the NBA Finals, and the following year, swept Boston in the 2003 playoffs.On November 28, 2012, there were indications that the rivalry might be rekindled when an altercation occurred on the court, resulting in the ejection of Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Kris Humphries. Rondo was suspended for two games in the aftermath, while Wallace and Kevin Garnett were fined. The story was revisited on December 25, when Wallace grabbed Garnett's shorts and the two had to be broken up by referees and players alike.
In the 2019 NBA off-season, the Nets signed point guard Kyrie Irving. Coming off two seasons with the Celtics, Irving was described as selfish by many critics. This impression caused many Celtics fans to blame him for the Celtics' inability to get through to the playoffs.
During a regular season game in the 2019–20 season between the Celtics and Nets, the Celtics' fans displayed their displeasure with Irving by chanting "Kyrie sucks" in TD Garden. When the series returned to Brooklyn two days later, the Nets' fans chanted "Kyrie's better" in response to the chants in Boston. The "Kyrie's Better" chants reference to how the Celtics signed Kemba Walker after Irving left for the Nets.
On May 30, 2021, after Kyrie Irving stomped on the Celtics center-court logo, a fan threw a water bottle at Irving at TD Garden following a Nets victory and a 3–1 lead in the series.
New York Knicks
The Knicks–Nets rivalry has historically been a geographical one, with the Knicks playing in Madison Square Garden in the New York City borough of Manhattan, while the Nets played in the suburban area of Long Island and in New Jersey, and since 2012 have been playing at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Media outlets have noted the Knicks–Nets rivalry's similarity to those of other New York City teams, such as the Major League Baseball historical Subway Series rivalry and the current rivalry between the American League 's New York Yankees and the National League 's New York Mets, and the National Football League rivalry between the National Football Conference 's New York Giants and the American Football Conference 's New York Jets, the result of the boroughs' proximity through the New York City subway. Historically, the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn competed via the Dodgers–Giants rivalry, when the two teams were the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Like the Knicks and Nets, the Giants and Dodgers played in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively, and were fierce intraleague rivals. The rivalry between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League took on a similar dimension while the Islanders inhabited the Barclays Center, from 2015 to 2021. Due to the Knicks being located in Manhattan and the Nets being located in Brooklyn, some media outlets have dubbed this rivalry "Clash of the Boroughs".Toronto Raptors
The rivalry with the Toronto Raptors began in the 2000s, specifically in 2004, after Raptors guard/forward Vince Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets. However, the two teams did not meet in the playoffs until 2007, when the Nets defeated the Raptors in the first round series, 4 games to 2, after a go-ahead shot by Richard Jefferson with 8 seconds left in Game 6 led to a 98–97 victory. In 2014, the teams met again in the first round, and the series went to seven games, with a game-winning block by Paul Pierce, giving the Nets the 104–103 victory. The series was noted for controversy when Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri made derogatory remarks towards Brooklyn at a fan rally outside Maple Leaf Square in Toronto before Game 1. Ujiri later apologized at halftime. The Raptors and Nets faced each other in the 2020 NBA playoffs in the first round, with Toronto winning the series four games to none.Season-by-season record
List of the last five seasons completed by the Nets. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Brooklyn Nets seasons.Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage
| Season | GP | W | L | W–L% | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2020–21 | 72 | 48 | 24 | 2nd, Atlantic | Lost in conference semifinals, 3–4 | |
| 2021–22 | 82 | 44 | 38 | 4th, Atlantic | Lost in first round, 0–4 | |
| 2022–23 | 82 | 45 | 37 | 4th, Atlantic | Lost in first round, 0–4 | |
| 2023–24 | 82 | 32 | 50 | 4th, Atlantic | Did not qualify | |
| 2024–25 | 82 | 26 | 56 | 4th, Atlantic | Did not qualify |