Established
1967
City
New Jersey - New York - New Jersey - Brooklyn
League History
1976 - Present / National Basketball Association
1967 - 1976 / American Basketball Association
Team History
2012 - Present / Brooklyn Nets
1977 - 2012 / New Jersey Nets
1968 - 1977 / New York Nets
1967 - 1968 / New Jersey Americans
Nickname
Americans - Sports fans have long been fascinated by the origins of their favorite teams’ nicknames, and the New Jersey Americans are no exception. The NBA franchise was founded in 1967 as an American Basketball Association (ABA) member. At that time, two other professional basketball leagues existed – the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL). As such, it made sense to adopt a name representing all three leagues: “Americans.”
The nickname also paid homage to New Jersey's rich history as one of America's original 13 colonies. The state has had many famous historical figures associated with it over its centuries; among them are founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, President Grover Cleveland, inventor Thomas Edison, and industrialist John D Rockefeller Jr., to name a few. It is fitting then that such an iconic team would take on this moniker which honors its home state's illustrious past and its place within US professional sports history at large.
In addition to being rooted in local pride for their home state, the "Americans" nickname was also chosen because it served another purpose - helping distinguish itself from other ABA franchises who took up more traditional monikers like "Jets," "Colonels" or even something more outlandish like "Conquistadors." By choosing something simple yet meaningful - much like how they chose colors red, white & blue for their uniforms - they created an identity that could easily be recognized by fans everywhere while still allowing them to stand out from competitors.
Ultimately, this decision proved successful; after merging with NBA following the 1975 season, New Jersey Americans became known simply as ' Nets,' but the legacy left behind continues live on today through stories passed down generation after generation about why the team initially chose to call themselves ' Americans.'
Championship
NBA Championships 0
ABA Championships 0
1976, 1974
Arena
2012 - Present / Barclays Center
*New Jersey*
2010 - 2012 / Prudential Center
1981 - 2010 / Izod Center
1977 - 1981 / Rutgers Athletic Center
*New York*
1972 - 1977 / Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
1969 - 1972 / Island Garden
1968 - 1969 / Long Island Arena
*New Jersey*
1967 - 1968 / Teaneck Armory
Owner
2010 - Present / Mikhail Prokhorov
2003 - 2010 / Bruce Ratner
1999 - 2003 / YankeeNets
1998 - 1999 / Raymond Chambers and Lewis Katz
1978 - 1998 / Secaucus Seven
1969 - 1978 / Roy Boe
1967 - 1969 / Arthur Brown
- 1967
- 1968
-
New Jersey Americans Formation
Initially looking to play in New York, but blocked by the Knicks, the Americans’ first season was played in a converted armory in Teaneck, New Jersey. The Americans took the floor on October 23rd against the Pittsburgh Pipers in front of 3,000 fans with a group of semi-pro players as a new league known as the American Basketball Association tried ... -
Move to New York and Nickname Change
After a planned move to Newark, New Jersey fell through the team opted to stay at the Long Island Arena for the second year, and changed its name to the New York Nets. The name “Nets” was used because it rhymes with the names of two other professional sports teams that played in the New York metropolitan area at the time: ...
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
History of the Americans
The New Jersey Americans, now known as the Brooklyn Nets, have had a long and illustrious history in the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They were one of 11 teams to join the ABA that year and quickly established themselves as one of its top franchises. Led by Hall-of-Famers Rick Barry and Julius Erving, they won two championships during their nine years in existence before joining forces with four other ABA teams to form what is now known today as “the NBA.”
Following their merger with four other ABA teams into what became known as ‘the NBA,’ The New Jersey Americans were rebranded to become 'The Nets' after relocating from Teaneck Armory arena to Long Island's Nassau Coliseum for their inaugural season under new ownership led by Roy Boe who renamed them "New York Nets." Under Boe's leadership, they made it all way through the semi-finals. Still, they lost out on an opportunity for the championship title when Seattle Supersonics beat them 4 games against 2 series back then, which would be remembered forever since then until 2002 when Jason Kidd led the new jersey nets over Los Angeles Lakers, winning the championship title 4 games against 0 series making this franchise first ever champions since 1976 despite having changed names twice already from Americans ->nets->new jersey nets.
In the 2012 - 2013 season, Mikhail Prokhorov took over ownership rights leading up another successful period where Deron Williams & Joe Johnson led the team towards playoffs every year throughout 5 seasons while also signing Kevin Garnett & Paul Pierce, bringing more attention than ever before eventually reaching finals again however losing out on chance due too injury issues thus ending era without any titles yet still making impactful memories along the way. This is one of the most successful periods in franchise history; even though no tags came out due to unfortunate circumstances, yet still left lasting impressions across the league among fans alike.
Sports Fan Products
Retired Number
3 / Dražen Petrović
5 / Jason Kidd
23 / John Williamson
25 / Bill Melchionni
32 / Julius Erving
52 / Buck Williams
*Blue is this team’s history