A Up to date Jersey Nets come the National Basketball Association team based within East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Franchise history

1967 to 1976 - The ABA Years
A franchise was established around 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association. Originally known as a New Jersey Americans, the team played its number 1 year in the Teaneck (N.J.) Armory, before changing its title & location (to Long Island) to become a New York Nets. A team was renamed to "Nets" to rhyme using ii more sales person sports team around New York: the New York Mets and New York Jets.

Within 1972, two years fallowing a acquisition of star Rick Barry, the Nets advanced to the ABA finals. But, it may not overcome a Indiana Pacers and lost a series little joe games to ii. Barry left when that postseason, sending a Nets into rebuilding mode. A 1972 - 1973 season was one of disappointment, as a Nets single won 30 games. In the 1973 offseason, however, a Nets acquired Julius Erving, known as "Dr. J" from either a Virginia Squires.

, a Nets won the endure ABA championship series witharound sextet games, returning the two their 2nd championship in 3 years.

1976 to 1980 - Move to the NBA and to New Jersey
When you took a summertime of 1976, a ABA & NBA merged. When section of a acquisition agreement, quartet teams from either a ABA -- including a Nets -- joined the NBA. But, prior to a Nets played a game in the NBA, it sold the rights to Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million, ending a extremely successful cycle at one time or another. A Nets finished their 1st year in a NBA using the worst record in the league at 22-60.

Seven". A number one 4 years around Up to date Jersey were unsatisfying, when a Nets suffered across little joe sequentially losing seasons.

The 1980s
A team get in a Brendan Byrne Arena (today called Continental Airlines Arena) in 1981 & had mild profits by owning 4 sequentially winning seasons. Inside 1982-1983, piece coached by Larry Brown, a Nets were getting their better year since joining the NBA. Nonetheless, 'last accepted a head coaching at a University of Kansas during the previous year of the year & was freed of his coaching job duties. A Nets would never recuperate from either a coaching job vary & would lose in the number 1 around of the playoffs.

In a 1983-1984 year, a Nets fielded what was believed to become their better team since joining the league. Led by Darryl Dawkins, Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong, and Micheal Ray Richardson, a team won their number one NBA playoff series, defeating the defending champion 76ers in the 1st spherical of the 1984 playoffs prior to falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in captain hicks games.

Injuries plagued a team in a period of a 1984-1985 year, however a Nets however managed to win 42 games prior to existence eliminated from either the 1985 playoffs per Detroit Pistons in three games. A Nets would does'nt qualify for the playoffs for the next 7 seasons (1991-1992) & would non have a winning record for eight (1992-1993).

The 1990s
When you took the early Nineties a Nets began to improve behind a core of immature players, when Just released Jersey drafted Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson and acquired the late Drazen Petrovic in a trade using a Portland Trail Blazers. Despite a losing record when you took a 1991-1992 year, the Nets experienced enough for the playoffs, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first spherical, tierce games to 1.

A team improved significantly within 1992-1993, led per trio of Coleman, Petrovic & Anderson & freshly head coach Chuck Daly. Yet, injuries to two Anderson & Petrovic toward a prevent of a year sent the team into a One-10 slump to prevent the regular year. A Nets finished a year at 43-39 & were seeded sixth in a Eastern Conference & faced the Cavaliers over again in the 1st spherical. Using Andersin recovered from either the broken h& and Petrovic swimming on an wounded knee, the Nets misused a hard 5-game series. Notwithstanding, the optimism of a team jelling was destroyed in June 7, when Petrovic was flushed around an auto accident inside Germany at a age of Xxviii.

Depite a devastaing loss of Petrovic, a Nets managed to win 45 games when you took a 1993-1994 year, losing to the New York Knicks the first spherical of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, trine games to of these. Daly resigned when head coach when a year & was replaced by Butch Beard.

A team struggled through the rest of the decade. When you took a mid-1990s a NBA's independent image condition was that of a selfish, unformed jock & whenever of these wanted to watch the team that embodied that image, completely 1 experienced to launder was view the Nets. Around 1995, Coleman was featured on the handle of Sports Illustrated as the poster infant of the selfish NBA streaming video player, however by using Anderson, Benoit Benjamin, Dwayne Schintzius and Chris Morris also on the roster, there were plenty of candidates for SI to take from either. A team's image was therefore unfortunate that within an effort to shed its losing image, management considered renaming a team "Swamp Dragons" around 1995, however rejected a idea. Around each a 1994-95 & 1995-96 seasons, a Nets finished sustaining monovular 30-52 records.

Inside an effort to begin afresh, Coleman & Anderson were each traded when you took a 1995-96 year & John Calipari replaced Beard as head coach at a prevent of the year. Kerry Kittles was selected in the 1996 NBA Draft and midway through a 1996-97 season, the team traded for Sam Cassell. When the 26-56 win-loss year, the Nets manufactured a major draft-day trade June 1997, getting Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris and two more players for Tim Thomas. A merely streaming video player from either a early Nineties that a Nets retained was Jayson Williams, who was getting into the rebounding specialist.

A 1997-98 year was a single brightly spot for the Nets in the late 1990s. A team played swell under Calipari, winning 43 games & qualifying for the playoffs on the day of judgement of the year. A Nets were seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference & misplaced to the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 playoffs in tercet straight games.

A "Secaucus Seven" sold a team inside 1998 to local real property developers, world health organization a next season signed an agreement by using New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to form YankeeNets, the holding company that would have them teams along by owning an interest inside a fresh regional sports television known as YES Network.

A 1998-99 year was delayed for threesome months imputable an owners' lockout of the players. Once the abbreviated 50-game year began, a Nets were a fashionable selection by experts as a surprise team. But, Cassell was hurt in a 1st game & the team began ill. Sustaining a Nets underachieving at Three-15, a Nets traded Cassell to a Bucks, when the Nets acquired Stephon Marbury from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Fallowing deuce additional losses, Calipari wwhen fired as head coach by owning a team at Three-17. A team never recovered from either its unfortunate run to finish at 16-34. By owning a Nets already eliminated from either playoff contention witharound April, Marbury impinge on Williams in a game against the Atlanta Hawks -- Williams broke his tibia and would never play for the Nets again.

The 2000s
Around 2000, a Nets hired when a team president Rod Thorn, world health organization was better known for existence a Bulls General Manager who drafted Michael Jordan and an executive with a NBA. Immediately, he began to assemble a components of a virtually all gifted team since the ABA champions of the mid-1970s. By using a number one pick in the 2000 Draft, the Nets selected Kenyon Martin from the University of Cincinnati. On the nighttime of the 2001 Draft, they traded a rights to their foremost circular choice (Eddie Griffin) to the Houston Rockets for their draft selections -- Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. Upright fallowing a 2001 draft, Thorn processed his boldest move. He traded completely-star Marbury to the Phoenix Suns for another completely-star point guard Jason Kidd. the move gave a team something it experienced been lacking for practically its entire NBA being, a floor leader world health organization as well processed his mate better.

That next year a Nets got their better year in their NBA history. A team won its foremost Atlantic Section title, finishing a regular year at 52-30 & were seeded 1st within Eastern Conference & faced Indiana in the foremost spherical of the 2002 NBA Playoffs.

When losing a number 1 punt home, a Nets so went in to win a next deuce games, prior to losing game iv on tour. Ahead of a sellout crowd, a Nets played one of the additional memorable games witharound NBA Playoff history in gage 5. A Nets led by nine points sustaining 5 transactions left over inside regulation, notwithstanding Reggie Miller made a 35-foot 3-pointer at a buzzer to send a game into overtime (it should become noted that replays late showed that Miller's shot was actually when a buzzer & so shouldn't own counted). Fallowing Miller sent the game into double-overtime using a camping dunk shot, the Nets retire for a 120-109 triumph.

In a Eastern Conference Semifinals, it defeated the Charlotte Hornets four games to one to advance to a Eastern Conference Championship first facing the Boston Celtics. Fallowing winning game a single versus a Celtics, a Nets misused game 2 home. Within gage trine, the Nets led by Xxi points running into the final time, however a wow Celtic comeback gave the Celtics a 94-90 triumph & a Two-One series lead. Around game quatern played in Memorial Day afternoon in Boston, the Nets led virtually all of how else however again a Celtics encountered a way to tie the game by owning a microscopic unexpended. But, in that game a Nets manufactured plenty plays at a prevent of the game to win it - Harris manufactured ii free streaming throws using Hexad.Sestet seconds left & while Paul Pierce missed ii free throws that would keep around attached a game by having One 2nd left, a series was attached at two games both. Around bet in 5, the Nets went on the 20-One dog early in the 4th cycle to coast to the 10Three-9Two triumph & a 3-2 lead in the series. Inside game Sextet, a Nets trailed by Tenner at halftime, however rallied in a 2nd half to choose the lead. Van Horn's leash pointer off a Kittles pass by owning L seconds left in the game clinched the Nets number one Eastern Conference Championship, little joe games to deuce.

In the 2002 NBA Finals, the Nets were swept by Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in four games.

Prior to a 2002-03 year, a Nets traded Van Horn to obtain Dikembe Mutombo from the 76ers. the move to improve a team did non operate out when Mutombo sat out virtually all of the year by owning a wrist joint injury. Despite Mutombo's absence, the Nets finished by using a 49-33 record & repeated when Atlantic Section title-holder. In a 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Nets won their 2nd sequentially Eastern Conference championship. A discomfited a Bucks around a 1st around of a playoffs quaternity games to deuce, so swept the Celtics & Pistons in sequentially series to advance to the 2003 NBA Finals, this instance facing the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. It split the foremost 4 games within a series, however the Nets played unpredictably in a Game Five loss home to last down in the series trine games to 2. Inside Game 6, a Nets led a Spurs by Tenner points inside tour sustaining Decade transactions remaining, however a Spurs went on a 19-0 redo to require the title in sise games.

As a result a 2003 Finals, Kidd became a absolutely free! professional & a Spurs pursued signing him out of a Nets. Notwithstanding, Kidd re-signed sustaining a Nets, along by having center Alonzo Mourning.

Within 2004, a Nets once again won the Atlantic Section title, yet their dog of conference championships was halted in the Eastern Conference Semifinals per eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons. the Nets stole Game Five withwithinside Detroit inside triple overtime, lone to blow a vast lead early in Game 6 in New Jersey. a Pistons won Game 7 around a rout & took the series Quatern Games to Threesome. Notably, Jason Kidd was held scoreless inside Stake Seven.

Within 2005, after ii unsatisfying seasons, a Nets acquired dissatisfied star Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Mourning, who was predictably freed per Bird of prey (& later on rejoined a Miami Heat). Teamed by using Kidd, Carter rallied a team from either existence extra than Decade games away from a playoffs to benefit a final seed in the Eastern Conference. Still, a duo may not overcome O'Neal again and were swept by the Heat in the First Round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

When you took the offseason of 2005, a Nets actively pursued a starting-quality power forward to fill that void when drafting Antoine Wright, a Vi' Septet" swingman because all the talented power forwards were taken in the draft.

Eventually settling on Shareef Abdur-Rahim, they actively courted him and gained his approval even though they could only offer him the mid-level exception. In order to get him a larger, more lucrative contract, the Nets pursued a sign-and-trade with Portland. There, negotiations hit a snag because Portland demanded a first-round draft pick, which the Nets adamantly refused to part with. Eventually, the Nets agreed to give Portland a protected first-round pick and their trade exception acquired from the Kerry Kittles trade. This allowed the Nets to keep their mid-level exception for signing other players. However, Thorn decided to void the Abdur-Rahim trade when he failed his physical examination because of a pre-existing knee injury. To fill Abdur-Rahim's slot on the roster, the Nets acquired Marc Jackson from the Sixers.

They used part of the remaining mid-level exception to re-sign Cliff Robinson for two years in response to Brian Scalabrine's departure. A back-up to Kidd was also sought and they actively courted free agents such as Keyon Dooling before turning their attention to talented, but aggravating (at times) Jeff McInnis, whom they eventually signed.

Planned Relocation to Brooklyn
In 2004, YankeeNets sold the franchise to real estate developer Bruce Ratner. In 2005 the Nets announced plans to to move the team back to New York, this time locating the team in Atlantic Yards section of downtown Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Nets Arena is the center of a extensive redevelopment project in Atlantic Yards being built by Ratner's real estate development company. Ironically, the site of the arena is the same site that Walter O'Malley wanted to use for a new stadium for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s. The plan was rejected and resulted in the team's relocation to Los Angeles in 1957. The Nets would be the first major professional sports team to play their games in Brooklyn since the departure of the Dodgers.

The arena is in the final planning stages and if apporoved, the Nets would move across the Hudson River for the 2008-2009 season.

Players of note

Basketball Hall of Famers:
Julius Erving Drazen Petrovic Rick Barry Nate Archibald

Not to be forgotten:
Kenny Anderson Derrick Coleman Kendall Gill Armon Gilliam Larry Kenon Kerry Kittles Stephon Marbury Kenyon Martin Brian Scalabrine Keith Van Horn

Retired numbers:
3 Drazen Petrovic 4 Wendell Ladner 23 John Williamson 25 Bill Melchionni 32 Julius Erving 52 Buck Williams

Coaches and others
Basketball Hall of Famers:
Chuck Daly Not to be forgotten:
Byron Scott Willis Reed Butch Beard John Calipari