New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They began in the American Basketball Association and now play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

1967 to 1976 - The ABA Years
The franchise was established in 1967 as part of the American Basketball Association, with trucking magnate Arthur Brown as the owner. He had intended to call the team the New York Freighters, playing at the 69th Regiment Armory on Manhattan's east side, but pressure from the New York Knicks forced the Armory to back out three months before opening day. 

Brown found it difficult to find a suitable venue in New York City. Some were booked solid, and others had owners who didn't want to anger the Knicks by opening their doors to a rival team. Scrambling for a venue, the team settled on the Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, and changed its name to the New Jersey Americans.

The Americans did fairly well in their first season, tying the Kentucky Colonels for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Division. However, the Armory was booked, forcing the Americans to scramble for a last-minute replacement.

They found one in the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York. However, when the Americans and Colonels arrived, they found a bizarre scene. The floor had several missing boards and bolts, and was unstable in several areas (one player claimed to have seen one side of the floor come up when he stepped on another). There was no padding on the backboards or basket supports, and one basket appeared to be higher than the other. There was also a large amount of condensation from a hockey game the previous night. After the Colonels refused to play, league commissioner George Mikan forfeited the game to the Colonels.

For the second season, the team opted to stay on Long Island, where it changed its name to the New York Nets. The team was renamed to "Nets" to rhyme with the names of the two other professional sports teams in New York that played on Long Island at the time: Major League Baseball's New York Mets and the American Football League's New York Jets.

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 hideous 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 got busy right away during the 1969 off season. After failing in their pursuit for UCLA star Lew Alcindor, who was drafted and then signed by the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks, the team acquired Rick Barry from the Virginia Squires and the Island Garden in West Hempstead became their new home. The Nets finished in third place and in the playoffs in 1969-70, and attendance went up threefold to 3,504. After two years at the Island Garden, the team moved to the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale for the 1971-72 season.

In 1972, two years after the acquisition of Barry, the Nets advanced to the ABA finals. However, they could not overcome the Indiana Pacers and lost the series four games to two. Barry left after that postseason, sending the Nets into rebuilding mode. The 1972-73 season was one of disappointment, as the Nets only won 30 games.

The 1973-74 season saw the Nets finally put all the pieces together. The key event of the season though would come in the 1973 offseason, however, 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 the ABA's MVP, the Nets advanced in the playoffs and won their first title, defeating the Utah Stars in the 1974 ABA Finals.

The success continued into the 1974-75 season as they topped the previous season's win record by winning 58 games - a record that still stands to this day. The Nets, though, were eliminated four games to one, by the Spirits of St. Louis in the first round of the 1975 ABA playoffs.

The Nets continued their winning ways in the 1975-76 season-the final season for the ABA, with Erving leading them to a successful 55-win season; he also was named MVP again that year. After a grueling series with the Denver Nuggets, the Nets won the last ABA championship series in league history in six games, giving the Nets their second championship in three years.

1976 to 1980 - Move to the NBA and back to New Jersey
During the summer of 1976, the ABA and NBA merged. As part of the merger agreement, four teams from the ABA - the Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and San Antonio Spurs - joined the NBA. The Nets and Nuggets had actually applied to join the NBA in 1975. Prior to their first NBA season, the Nets traded two draft picks to the Kansas City Kings for guard Nate Archibald. The Nets appeared to be poised to pick up where they left off in the ABA.

However, they got a rude surprise when the Knicks forced them to pay $4.8 million for "invading" the Knicks' NBA territory. Coming on the heels of the $3 million that the team had to pay for joining the NBA, this left Boe short of cash, and he was forced to renege on a promised pay raise for Erving. Erving refused to play for the Nets under these conditions, leaving Boe no choice but to sell Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million. Without Erving, the Nets wrote off the season as a lost cause. However, they lost all semblance of respectability when Archibald broke his foot in January. The team finished at 22-60, the worst record in the league. The team did set one record of sorts; in November 1976, they became the first NBA team ever to have an all-left-handed starting lineup, with Tim Bassett, Al Skinner, Bubbles Hawkins, Jan van Breda Kolff, and Kim Hughes.

Prior to the 1977-78 season, Boe moved the franchise back to New Jersey, renaming the team the New Jersey Nets. While the team awaited the completion of a new arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, they played four seasons at the Rutgers Athletic Center (later renamed the Louis Brown Athletic Center) on the campus of Rutgers University. In 1978, Boe sold the team to a group of seven local businessmen (led by Joe Taub and Alan N. Cohen) who became known as the "Secaucus Seven". The first four years in New Jersey were disappointing, as the Nets suffered through four consecutive losing seasons.

The 1980s
The team moved into the Brendan Byrne Arena (known as the Continental Airlines Arena in 1996, and renamed the Izod Center in October 2007 ) in 1981 and experienced modest success with four consecutive winning seasons. In 1982-83, while coached by Larry Brown, the Nets were having their best season since joining the NBA. However, Brown accepted the head coaching job at the University of Kansas during the last month of the season and was suspended for the rest of the season. The Nets would never recover from the coaching change and would lose in the first round of the playoffs to their Hudson River rival New York Knicks.

In the 1983-84 season, the Nets fielded what was believed to be their best team since joining the league. Led by Darryl Dawkins, Buck Williams, Otis Birdsong, and Micheal Ray Richardson, the team won their first NBA playoff series, defeating the defending champion 76ers in the first round of the 1984 playoffs before falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games.

Injuries plagued the team during the 1984-85 season, but the Nets still managed to win 42 games before being eliminated from the playoffs by the Detroit Pistons in three games. The Nets would not qualify for the playoffs for the next seven seasons (1991-92) and would not have a winning record for eight (1992-93).

The 1990s
During the early 1990s the Nets began to improve behind a core of young players, as New Jersey drafted Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson and acquired Drazen Petrovic in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite a losing record during the 1991-92 season, the Nets qualified for the playoffs, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, three games to one.

The team improved significantly in 1992-93, led by the trio of Coleman, Petrovic and Anderson, and former head coach, Chuck Daly. However, injuries to both Anderson and Petrovic toward the end of the season sent the team into a 1-10 slump to end the regular season. The Nets finished the season at 43-39 and were seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference and faced the Cavaliers again in the first round. With Anderson recovered from a broken hand and Petrovic playing on an injured knee, the Nets lost a tough five-game series. However, the optimism of a team jelling was destroyed on June 7, when Petrovic was killed in an automobile accident in Germany at the age of 28.

Despite the devastating loss of Petrovic, the Nets managed to win 45 games during the 1993-94 season, losing to the New York Knicks the first round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, three games to one. Daly resigned as head coach after the season and was replaced by Butch Beard.

The team struggled through the rest of the decade. During the mid-1990s the NBA's main image problem was that of the selfish, immature athlete and if one wanted to see a team that embodied that image, all one had to do was look at the Nets. In 1995, Coleman was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the poster child of the selfish NBA player, but with Anderson, Benoit Benjamin, Dwayne Schintzius and Chris Morris also on the roster, there were plenty of candidates for SI to choose from. The team's image was so poor that in an effort to shed its losing image, management considered renaming the team "Swamp Dragons" or the "Fire Dragons" in 1994, but rejected the idea. In both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, the Nets finished with identical 30-52 records.

In an effort to start anew, Coleman and Anderson were both traded during the 1995-96 season and John Calipari replaced Beard as head coach at the end of the season. Kerry Kittles was selected in the 1996 NBA Draft and midway through the 1996-97 season, the team traded for Sam Cassell. After a 26-56 win-loss season, the Nets made a major draft-day trade in June 1997, acquiring Keith Van Horn, Lucious Harris and two other players for Tim Thomas. The only player from the early 1990s that the Nets retained was Jayson Williams, who was developing into a rebounding specialist.

The 1997-98 season was a lone bright spot for the Nets in the late 1990s. The team played well under Calipari, winning 43 games and qualifying for the playoffs on the last day of the season. The Nets were seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 playoffs in three straight games. The Nets played well and came close to taking the first two games.

The "Secaucus Seven" sold the team in 1998 to local real estate developers, who the next year signed an agreement with New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to form YankeeNets, a holding company that would own the two teams along with increasing leverage in future broadcast contracts by negotiating together. After getting offers from numerous broadcast partners, including what was their current rights holder Cablevision, YankeeNets decided to launch a new regional sports television called YES Network.

The 1998-99 season was delayed for three months due to an owners' lockout of the players. When the abbreviated 50-game season began, the Nets were a fashionable choice by experts as a surprise team. However, Cassell was injured in the first game and the team started poorly. With the Nets underachieving at 3-15, the Nets traded Cassell to the Bucks, while the Nets acquired Stephon Marbury from the Minnesota Timberwolves. After two more losses, Calipari was fired as head coach with the team at 3-17. The team never recovered from its poor start to finish at 16-34. With the Nets already eliminated from playoff contention in April, Marbury collided with Williams in a game against the Atlanta Hawks -- Williams broke his tibia and would never play in the NBA again.

From 1990 to 1997 the Nets played on a parquet-designed floor similar to the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and the Minnesota Timberwolves during their home games at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The 2000s
In 2000, the Nets hired as the team president Rod Thorn, a longtime NBA executive best known for drafting Michael Jordan while he was the Bulls' general manager. Immediately, he began to assemble the components of the most talented team since the ABA champions of the mid-1970s. He started by hiring Byron Scott as coach. With the first pick in the 2000 Draft, the Nets selected Kenyon Martin from the University of Cincinnati. On the night of the 2001 Draft, they traded the rights to their first round selection (Eddie Griffin) to the Houston Rockets - Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong.

Just after the 2001 draft, Thorn made his boldest move. He traded all-star Marbury to the Phoenix Suns for all-star and All-NBA point guard Jason Kidd. The move gave the team something it had been lacking for practically its entire NBA existence, a floor leader who also made his teammates better.

That season, the Nets had their best season in their NBA history. The team won its first Atlantic Division title, finishing the regular season at 52-30 and were seeded first in Eastern Conference and faced Indiana in the first round of the 2002 NBA Playoffs.

After losing the first game at home, the Nets then went on to win the next two games, before losing game four on the road. In front of a sellout crowd, the Nets played one of the more memorable games in NBA Playoff history in game five. The Nets led by nine points with five minutes remaining in regulation, however Reggie Miller made a 35-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime (as replays later showed, Miller's shot was actually after the buzzer and therefore should not have counted). After Miller sent the game into double-overtime with a driving dunk, the Nets pulled away for a 120-109 victory. It is the only game in NBA history to end every quarter&mdash;the first quarter, first half, third quarter, second half, and first overtime&mdash;tied.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they defeated the Charlotte Hornets four games to one to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time facing the Boston Celtics. After winning game one versus the Celtics, the Nets lost game two at home. In game three, the Nets led by 21 points going into the final period, but a tremendous Celtic comeback gave the Celtics a 94-90 victory and a 2-1 series lead. In game four played on Memorial Day afternoon in Boston, the Nets led most of the way but once again the Celtics found a way to tie the game with a minute remaining. However, in this game the Nets made enough plays at the end of the game to win it - Harris made two free throws with 6.6 seconds left and when Paul Pierce missed two free throws that would have tied the game with 1 second left, the series was tied at two games each. In game five, the Nets went on a 20-1 run early in the fourth period to coast to a 103-92 victory and a 3-2 lead in the series. In game 6, the Nets trailed by 10 at halftime, but rallied in the second half to take the lead. Van Horn's three pointer off a Kittles pass with 50 seconds left in the game clinched the Nets their first Eastern Conference Championship, four games to two.

In the 2002 NBA Finals, the Nets were swept by Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey was the third straight victim to fall to the L.A. dynasty, who had dominated both Indiana and Philadelphia. Kidd and company were just too inexperienced and ill-equipped to deal with the Lakers.

Before the 2002-03 season, the Nets traded Van Horn and MacCulloch to obtain Dikembe Mutombo from the 76ers. The move to improve the team did not work out as Mutombo sat out most of the season with a wrist injury, but received little time in the playoffs due to differences with coach Byron Scott. Despite Mutombo's absence, the Nets finished with a 49-33 record and repeated as Atlantic Division champs. In the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Nets won their second consecutive Eastern Conference championship. They defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs four games to two, then swept the Celtics and Detroit Pistons in consecutive series to advance to the 2003 NBA Finals, this time facing the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. They split the first four games in the series, but the Nets played erratically in a Game 5 loss at home to go down in the series three games to two. In Game 6, the Nets led the Spurs by 10 points on the road with 10 minutes remaining, but the Spurs went on a 19-0 run to take the title in six games.

Following the 2003 Finals, Kidd became a free agent and the Spurs pursued signing him away from the Nets. However, Kidd re-signed with the Nets, stating that he had "unfinished business" in New Jersey. Another factor in Kidd's decision was the signing of free-agent Alonzo Mourning. But Mourning's tenure with the Nets would be disastrous, as he missed most of the 2003-04 season due to a kidney ailment.

In 2004, the Nets again won the Atlantic Division title, and swept their crosstown rival Knicks in the first round. However, their run of conference championships was halted in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals by the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons. After the teams split the first four games, each one large routs at home, the Nets took Game 5 in Detroit in triple-overtime, only to fall short in Game 6 in New Jersey. The Pistons won Game 7 in a rout and took the series 4 games to 3. Jason Kidd, playing on an injured knee that eventually required surgery after the season, was held scoreless in Game 7.

After the season, the Nets were forced to trade Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin, to the Clippers and Nuggets respectively, because new owner Bruce Ratner was unwilling to pay the remainder of their contracts. They received only draft picks in return for two key players in the team's recent success. Unbeknownst to New Jersey however, was the fact that Kittles went under the knife for the fifth time to correct his knee, and Martin would need microfracture surgery in both knees. The 2004-05 season looked gloomy for the Nets. Their star Kidd was recovering from his own microfracture surgery and the young Richard Jefferson was handed the reins for New Jersey. The team got off to a 2-11 start, and even with Jason Kidd returning from injury, the outlook was bleak. However, the Nets made a major deal by obtaining disgruntled star Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Mourning, who was released by the Raptors (and subsequently rejoined the Miami Heat), Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and draft picks. Mourning himself had become disgruntled, saying the Nets "betrayed" him and that New Jersey's progress to that point was not what he "signed up for". This move made the Nets major players again, as they featured on of the top 1-2-3's in the league with Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson respectively. However, it was short lived, as Jefferson was injured in a game against the Detroit Pistons, and would require season ending surgery.

However, this would not doom the Nets entirely. Teamed with Kidd, a rejuvinated Vince Carter rallied the team from being more than 10 games out of the playoffs to gain the final seed in the Eastern Conference with a win in the last game of the season. However, the Nets could not overcome O'Neal again even with Jefferson back from his injury and were swept by the Heat in the First Round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

During the offseason of 2005, the Nets actively pursued a starting-quality power forward through free agency. They had drafted Antoine Wright, a 6' 7" swingman because all the talented power forwards were taken in the draft, and still needed to fill the void left by Kenyon Martin.

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. Abdur-Rahim would vehemently deny any injury and said he felt like "damaged goods". He would need surgery at the end of the '07 season. 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 Clifford 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 and was a non-factor in the Nets Season due to injury and eventually was traded.

The Nets started the 2005-06 season slowly, struggling to a 9-12 record in their first 21 games. However, behind strong play by Carter, Kidd & Jefferson the team won their next 10 games (their final 8 games in December and first two games in January) to surge to top of the division. After the winning streak, the Nets returned to their earlier mediocre play (winning only 13 of their next 29 games), but starting on March 12 the Nets won their next 14 games in a row - the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and matching the franchise record set in 2004. The streak ended on April 8, 2006 when the Nets loss to the Cavaliers 108-102 at home. They set a team record with 20 road victories this season.

The Nets finished the 2005-06 regular season with a 49-33 record. They clinched their 4th Atlantic Division championship in the last five seasons and the 3rd seed the Eastern Conference playoffs, playing the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. It seemed they had returned to their elite status of a few years back. They defeated the Pacers and advanced to the second round where they played the Heat, in a rematch of 2005's first round Eastern Conference loss. On May 16, 2006, the Nets lost the best-of-seven series 4-1 to the Heat. Nets fans were left to wonder what might have been as Cliff Robinson, one of the team's key defenders against Shaq, was suspended following Game 1 of that series for failing a drug test.

Highlights of the season include the naming of Vince Carter to the All-Star Team in 2006. Originally named as a reserve, an injury to Jermaine O'Neal elevated Carter to a starting position. Kidd, meanwhile, was named to the NBA All-Defensive team at the end of the season.

The 2006-07 NBA season fared poorly for the Nets but finished on a bright note, as they suffered a barrage of injuries starting in the preseason to mid December. Many experts predicted they would win the Atlantic easily (Charles Barkley went as far as to say the Nets would win the Eastern Conference), but the season did not turn out as hoped. The Nets finished the regular season at .500 (41-41) and lost the Atlantic Division title to the surprising Toronto Raptors. The early-season loss of Nenad Krstić to a freak Knee injury and the two-month absence of Richard Jefferson caused by an ankle injury caused the Nets to stumble mid-season. However, Jefferson went back into action on March 9 against Houston and helped the Nets regain a winning momentum, allowing them to win 10 of their last 13 games. Among the highlights of the regular season were the naming of Kidd and Carter to the '07 East All-Star team and Kidd's selection to the 2007 All-Defensive 2nd Team. New Jersey finished with the 6th seed in the East and faced the 3rd seeded Toronto Raptors, feeding their newly developed rivalry. The Nets beat the Raptors in six games thanks in part to the fourth quarter heroics of Richard Jefferson on both ends of the floor lifting them to a one-point victory. Their playoff run ended, however, in the following round as they fell to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 in the best-of-seven series. Since their runs at the NBA title, New Jersey has been eliminated by three of the last four Eastern Conference champs, two of whom went on to win the title. In the 2007 NBA Draft, the Nets used the 17th pick to pick "troubled" Boston College player Sean Williams. They then lost Mikki Moore to the Sacramento Kings, but gained Jamal Magloire from the Portland Trailblazers.

Planned relocation to Brooklyn, New York
In 2004, after failing to secure a deal for a new arena in Newark, New Jersey, YankeeNets sold the franchise to a group headed by real estate developer Bruce Ratner for $300 million. In 2005 the Nets announced plans to move the team back to New York, this time locating the team in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. One of the members of the ownership group is rap mogul and Brooklyn native Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. The team would be renamed either Brooklyn Nets (current working title) or have a new name attached to its Brooklyn location. A title presented by Jay Z is the Brooklyn Knights, a play on the word Brooklynite

The Barclays Center is the center of an extensive redevelopment project called the Atlantic Yards being built by Ratner's real estate development company. The site of the arena is nearby to the 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 1958. The Nets would be the first major professional sports team to play their games in Brooklyn since the departure of the Dodgers. This would leave New Jersey with the Devils of hockey as the only professional team with the state's namesake.

The arena is in the final planning stages. The Nets originally planned to move across the Hudson River for the beginning of the 2009-10 season. However, on January 3, 2008 the team announced that it would not start to play at the Barclays Center until 2010 at the earliest. It is unknown whether the team will move during the middle of the 2009-10 season or wait for the beginning of the next season (2010-11). In September 2006, the team and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority announced an extension of their lease to keep the team in the Meadowlands until 2013, with a provision to leave as early as 2009 if the Brooklyn arena is completed..

In December 2006, the Atlantic Yards was approved, but still is subject to lawsuits before construction.

In the event the Brooklyn arena project is rejected, the Star-Ledger article stated that Nets management has indicated that staying in the Meadowlands is their top alternative to the Brooklyn arena. The New Jersey Devils (who shared CAA with the Nets until 2007), however, have an open invitation for the Nets to move to their arena, the Prudential Center, which opened in Newark, New Jersey for the start of the 2007-08 hockey season. New Jersey state officials have called to close the Izod Center now that the Prudential Center is open, but with the Nets' extension, that is unlikely.

If the Nets ultimately do not move to Brooklyn, it is unknown if Ratner would continue to own the team in New Jersey or put the team up for sale, since the arena project was the main reason he bought the team. Alternative possibilities discussed in the past include the Nets playing their home games at Madison Square Garden or returning to Long Island to share a new or refurbished arena with the New York Islanders. The team name will be possibly changed back to New York Nets.

On January 18 2007, it was announced that the planned Brooklyn arena will be called the Barclays Center. British bank Barclays, hoping to expand its profile in the United States, signed a 20-year deal for naming rights on the new 18,000-seat facility. Construction on this arena has not broken ground yet.

Season-by-season records

 * colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#054ea4" |  New Jersey Americans (ABA) (Not included in W/L totals)
 * 1967-68
 * 36
 * 43
 * 0.456
 * colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#054ea4" | New York Nets
 * 1968-69
 * 17
 * 61
 * 0.218
 * 1969-70
 * 39
 * 45
 * 0.464
 * Lost First Round
 * Kentucky 4, New York 3
 * 1970-71
 * 40
 * 44
 * 0.476
 * Lost First Round
 * Virginia 4, New York 2
 * 1971-72
 * 44
 * 40
 * 0.524
 * Won First Round Won ABA Semifinals Lost ABA Finals
 * New York 4, Kentucky 2 New York 4, Virginia 2 Indiana 4, New York 2
 * 1972-73
 * 30
 * 54
 * 0.357
 * Lost First Round
 * Carolina 4, New York 1
 * 1973-74
 * 55
 * 29
 * 0.655
 * Won First Round Won ABA Semifinals Won ABA Finals
 * New York 4, Virginia 1 New York 4, Kentucky 0 New York 4, Utah 1
 * 1974-75
 * 58
 * 26
 * 0.690
 * Lost First Round
 * St. Louis 4, New York 1
 * 1975-76
 * 55
 * 29
 * 0.655
 * Won ABA Semifinals Won ABA Finals
 * New York 4, San Antonio 3 New York 4, Denver 2
 * colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#054ea4" | New York Nets (NBA) (Included in W/L totals)
 * 1976-77
 * 22
 * 60
 * 0.268
 * colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#08294a" | New Jersey Nets
 * 1977-78
 * 24
 * 58
 * 0.293
 * 1978-79
 * 37
 * 45
 * 0.451
 * Lost First Round
 * Philadelphia 2, New Jersey 0
 * 1979-80
 * 34
 * 48
 * 0.415
 * 1980-81
 * 24
 * 58
 * 0.293
 * 1981-82
 * 44
 * 38
 * 0.537
 * Lost First Round
 * Washington 2, New Jersey 0
 * 1982-83
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Lost First Round
 * New York 2, New Jersey 0
 * 1983-84
 * 45
 * 37
 * 0.549
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 3, Philadelphia 2 Milwaukee 4, New Jersey 2
 * 1984-85
 * 42
 * 40
 * 0.512
 * Lost First Round
 * Detroit 3, New Jersey 1
 * 1985-86
 * 39
 * 43
 * 0.476
 * Lost First Round
 * Milwaukee 3, New Jersey 0
 * 1986-87
 * 24
 * 58
 * 0.293
 * 1987-88
 * 19
 * 63
 * 0.232
 * 1988-89
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 1989-90
 * 17
 * 65
 * 0.207
 * 1990-91
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 1991-92
 * 40
 * 42
 * 0.488
 * Lost First Round
 * Cleveland 3, New Jersey 1
 * 1992-93
 * 43
 * 39
 * 0.524
 * Lost First Round
 * Cleveland 3, New Jersey 2
 * 1993-94
 * 45
 * 37
 * 0.549
 * Lost First Round
 * New York 3, New Jersey 1
 * 1994-95
 * 30
 * 52
 * 0.366
 * 1995-96
 * 30
 * 52
 * 0.366
 * 1996-97
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 1997-98
 * 43
 * 39
 * .524
 * Lost First Round
 * Chicago 3, New Jersey 0
 * 1998-99
 * 16
 * 34
 * 0.320
 * 1999-2000
 * 31
 * 51
 * 0.378
 * 2000-01
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 2001-02
 * 52
 * 30
 * 0.634
 * Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals
 * New Jersey 3, Indiana 2 New Jersey 4, Charlotte 1 New Jersey 4, Boston 2 Los Angeles 4, New Jersey 0
 * 2002-03
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals
 * New Jersey 4, Milwaukee 2 New Jersey 4, Boston 0 New Jersey 4, Detroit 0 San Antonio 4, New Jersey 2
 * 2003-04
 * 47
 * 35
 * 0.573
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, New York 0 Detroit 4, New Jersey 3
 * 2004-05
 * 42
 * 40
 * 0.512
 * Lost First Round
 * Miami 4, New Jersey 0
 * 2005-06
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Indiana 2 Miami 4, New Jersey 1
 * 2006-07
 * 41
 * 41
 * 0.500
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Toronto 2 Cleveland 4, New Jersey 2
 * 1996-97
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 1997-98
 * 43
 * 39
 * .524
 * Lost First Round
 * Chicago 3, New Jersey 0
 * 1998-99
 * 16
 * 34
 * 0.320
 * 1999-2000
 * 31
 * 51
 * 0.378
 * 2000-01
 * 26
 * 56
 * 0.317
 * 2001-02
 * 52
 * 30
 * 0.634
 * Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals
 * New Jersey 3, Indiana 2 New Jersey 4, Charlotte 1 New Jersey 4, Boston 2 Los Angeles 4, New Jersey 0
 * 2002-03
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals
 * New Jersey 4, Milwaukee 2 New Jersey 4, Boston 0 New Jersey 4, Detroit 0 San Antonio 4, New Jersey 2
 * 2003-04
 * 47
 * 35
 * 0.573
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, New York 0 Detroit 4, New Jersey 3
 * 2004-05
 * 42
 * 40
 * 0.512
 * Lost First Round
 * Miami 4, New Jersey 0
 * 2005-06
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Indiana 2 Miami 4, New Jersey 1
 * 2006-07
 * 41
 * 41
 * 0.500
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Toronto 2 Cleveland 4, New Jersey 2
 * 2004-05
 * 42
 * 40
 * 0.512
 * Lost First Round
 * Miami 4, New Jersey 0
 * 2005-06
 * 49
 * 33
 * 0.598
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Indiana 2 Miami 4, New Jersey 1
 * 2006-07
 * 41
 * 41
 * 0.500
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Toronto 2 Cleveland 4, New Jersey 2
 * Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals
 * New Jersey 4, Toronto 2 Cleveland 4, New Jersey 2

! Playoffs
 * 52
 * 65
 * 0.444

Home arenas

 * Teaneck Armory (1967-1968)
 * Long Island Arena (1968-1969)
 * Island Garden (1969-1971)
 * Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1971-1977)
 * Rutgers Athletic Center (1977-1981)
 * Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center (1981-Present)

Basketball Hall of Fame players

 * Nate Archibald - played one season with Nets, 1976-77, the last season on Long Island
 * Rick Barry - played for the Nets only while the team was a member of the ABA
 * Julius Erving - played for the Nets only while the team was a member of the ABA
 * Drazen Petrovic - played 3 seasons for the Nets, died in a car accident after Nets were eliminated from 1993 NBA Playoffs

Retired numbers
List of National Basketball Association Retired Numbers
 * 3 - Dražen Petrović, G, 1990-93
 * 4 - Wendell Ladner, F, 1974-75
 * 23 - John Williamson, G, 1973-80
 * 25 - Bill Melchionni, G, 1969-76
 * 32 - Julius Erving, F, 1973-76
 * 52 - Buck Williams, F, 1981-89

Individual Awards

 * All-NBA Team


 * Buck Williams (1982-1983) - 3rd Team
 * Derrick Coleman (1993-1994) - 3rd Team
 * Stephon Marbury (1999-2000) - 3rd Team
 * Jason Kidd (2001-2002) - 1st Team
 * Jason Kidd (2002-2003) - 2nd Team
 * Jason Kidd (2003-2004) - 1st Team


 * NBA All-Defensive Team


 * Buck Williams (1987-1988) - 2nd Team
 * Jason Kidd (2001-2002),(2005-2006) - 1st Team
 * Jason Kidd (2002-2003), (2003-2004), (2004-2005), (2006-2007) - 2nd Team


 * NBA All-Rookie Team


 * Buck Williams (1981-1982)
 * Chris Morris (1988-1989) - 2nd Team
 * Derrick Coleman (1990-1991) - 1st Team
 * Kerry Kittles (1996-1997) - 2nd Team
 * Keith Van Horn (1997-1998) - 1st Team
 * Kenyon Martin (2000-2001) - 1st Team
 * Richard Jefferson (2001-2002) - 2nd Team
 * Nenad Krstic (2004-2005) - 2nd Team
 * Marcus Williams (2006-2007) - 2nd Team