- 1977
- 1978
- 2001
- 2004
-
Move Back to New Jersey
Due to the team’s low attendance and poor financial picture in Long Island, Boe decided to move the franchise back to New Jersey prior to the 1977 – 1978 season. The Knicks once again became an obstacle and threatened to block the move because it would infringe on their exclusive territorial rights to New Jersey. The Nets responded by suing ... -
Renamed New Jersey Nets
With the move official, the team was renamed the New Jersey Nets after its new home state. While the team awaited the completion of a new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, they played four seasons at the Rutgers Athletic Center at Rutgers University in Piscataway. The 1978 – 1979 season saw the team, aided by the ... -
Trade for Jason Kidd
On the night of the 2001 Draft, the Nets traded the rights to their first-round selection (Eddie Griffin) to the Houston Rockets for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong, and selected Brian Scalabrine in the second round. The trade was widely considered a smart move by the Nets as they needed to get younger and clear out much of ... -
Sold to Bruce Ratner
In 2004, after failing to secure a deal for a new arena in Newark, New Jersey (eventually a new arena, the Prudential Center, was built in Newark for the New Jersey Devils), the YankeeNets sold the franchise to a group headed by real estate developer Bruce Ratner for $300 million, beating out a group led by Charles Kushner and Jon ...
History of the Nets
The New Jersey Nets have a long and storied history in the NBA. Founded in 1967 as part of the ABA, they joined the NBA after that league merged with it in 1976. The team has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years, but its most tremendous success came between 2001-2008 when they made back-to-back trips to the finals under coach Byron Scott. During this time, stars such as Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson helped lead them to become one of the best teams in basketball for a brief period before eventually losing out on both championship opportunities.
Since then, however, things haven’t been so rosy for New Jersey's favorite team; from 2009 - 2012, they struggled mightily due to injuries & poor roster decisions, which led them into rebuilding mode once again, starting the 2013 season onward, where current head coach Kenny Atkinson took charge & started building up young talent like Caris LeVert who is now becoming an All-Star caliber player leading his squad back into relevance making playoffs twice since 2018 season onwards even though not advancing far enough yet.
Despite some rough patches along the way, the Nets are still considered one of the most profitable franchises currently competing at the highest level, thanks mainly to recent changes implemented by new management staff putting together competitive rosters while maintaining financial flexibility, allowing future moves if needed. With the right pieces falling place, New Jersey faithful will be hoping that this could finally be the year the franchise can make a deep run toward title contention, something fans have been waiting for quite some time now.
Nets Products
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
Nets - The New Jersey Nets have a long and storied history in the NBA, but many sports fans may not know the origins of their nickname. The team was founded in 1968 as part of the ABA (American Basketball Association) and originally called themselves “the Americans.” In 1972, they changed their name to “the New York Nets” after merging with another ABA franchise from Long Island; however, when they moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1977, they became known as “the New Jersey Nets.”
The origin story behind this new name is quite interesting: it came about due to a contest held by then-owner Roy Boe who asked local schoolchildren for suggestions on what he should call his newly relocated basketball team. One student suggested that since many highways were near the arena, including Route 3, which runs through NJ, why not call them "The Highwaymen" or "Networkers"? Boe liked these ideas so much that he chose them both! He combined them into one word – NETS – which has been used ever since! It's also worth noting that before being named after highways and networks, some people had referred to this particular franchise as either 'New Yorkers' or 'Jerseyites.'
This unique moniker has become an iconic representation of everything related to basketball within the Garden State over time; even today, you can still find plenty of merchandise featuring its logo around town! So next time you're watching your favorite NBA game at home or Barclays Center cheering on Brooklyn's version of The Net Workers, remember how it all began in 1972 with Roy Boe's creative idea for naming his beloved team: The NJ NETS!
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
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.
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
