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 York Nets have been a part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1967 and are one of the oldest franchises in the league. As such, they have a long and storied history, making them iconic in basketball. However, one aspect of their legacy that is often overlooked is their nickname's origin story.
It all began with founder Arthur Brown who wanted to give his team an identity separate from its predecessors: The American Basketball League’s Brooklyn Celtics and New Jersey Americans teams had both previously used “Nets” as their moniker, but Brown was determined to make sure his new franchise would stand out from these two predecessors by giving it its unique name. After much deliberation, he settled on “Nets” because it represented strength – something he felt was essential for any successful sports team – while being short enough for fans to easily remember when cheering at games or talking about them around town.
As time went on, this nickname became even more entrenched as fan support grew over the years; not only did they come up with clever chants like "Go Nets!" during games, but there were also several popular merchandise items featuring various designs incorporating nets, which helped further cement this name into people's minds across America - particularly amongst basketball aficionados who could appreciate what this symbolized about those playing for The Big Apple-based squad each season!
In conclusion then, although most may think that 'nets' refers to baskets made during gameplay, we can now see how vital symbolism played into why Arthur Brown chose this particular word back in 1967 when creating what would eventually become one of the NBA's most beloved franchises: The New York Nets!
Championship
NBA Championships 0
ABA Championships 2
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
- 1968
- 1969
- 1970
- 1973
- 1976
-
Name Changed to the Nets
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 ... -
Secret Draft – Lew Alcindor
The team finished last in its first New York season and drew a paltry 1,108 a game, about half of what it had drawn a year earlier. They posted a 17–61 record and shuffled 23 different players on and off the roster. Brown sold the team to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe after that season. Boe started off his ownership with ... -
Acquisition of Barry
During the 1970 offseason, the team finally managed to acquire a star in Rick Barry after trading their No. 1 pick and cash to the Virginia Squires. After another playoff season at the Island Garden, the team moved to the brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale for the end of the 1971 – 1972 season. In 1972, two ... -
Julius Erving to the Nets
The 1973 – 1974 season saw the Nets finally put all the pieces together. The key event of the season though would come in the 1973 offseason, as the Nets acquired Julius Erving from the Virginia Squires. With Erving, who was affectionately known as “Dr. J”, the Nets ended the season with a franchise-record 55 victories. After Erving was voted ... -
ABA–NBA Merger
The summer of 1976 saw the ABA–NBA merger finally take place. As part of the merger agreement, four teams from the ABA—the Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs – joined the NBA. The Nets and Nuggets had actually applied to join the NBA in 1975, but were forced to play a lame-duck season in the ABA by ...
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 Nets
The New York Nets, formerly known as the New Jersey Americans, are a professional basketball team based in Brooklyn, New York. The team was founded as part of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967 and joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) when it merged with the ABA in 1976. Over its history, the Nets have been one of only two teams to win both an ABA championship and an NBA championship; they won their first title as part of the ABA's New Jersey Americans franchise before winning two championships with their current moniker during their time in Brooklyn.
Since joining forces with fellow former-ABA franchise Indiana Pacers for a merger that brought them into existence within NBA ranks, many great players have donned a Nets jersey over time, including Julius Erving, who led them to victory on three separate occasions from 1974–1976 while being named MVP twice along his journey there. Other notable figures include Jason Kidd, who is widely credited for leading one of the most successful eras ever seen by any pro sports club between 2001–2003. Where he piloted this squad deep into playoffs each season, culminating in a 2002 Finals appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers, which unfortunately ended up being a lost 4-0 series sweep for the Eastern Conference champions but still stands out today as the best performance achieved by the organization since its inception all those years ago back in 1967 when they were born under a different name: “New Jersey Americans.”
In 2012, after more than forty years of playing home games across the Hudson River at Izod Center located in East Rutherford, NJ, ownership decided it was finally time to make the long-awaited move back closer to the original location, thus relocating the entire operation right to the heart of downtown Manhattan borough called Borough Of Kings – also known as “Brooklyn” - where the brand new state-of-the-art Barclays Center arena would become the official home court starting from the 2013/14 campaign, marking the end of an era of glorious past full of memorable moments and unforgettable characters now set sail towards a promising future filled with hope, joy, and excitement once again thanks to the arrival of the beloved NYC basketball squad.
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