NBA franchise story

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets span ABA brilliance, New Jersey's Kidd-led Finals teams and Brooklyn's repeated superstar swings—a franchise often transformed by bold bets and their consequences.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Brooklyn Nets.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every curated card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Brooklyn Nets official team history ↗

The beginning

Franchise era

1967–68—1975–76

Julius Erving

Brian Taylor

Bill Melchionni

Two titles before the merger

Dr. J and the ABA Nets

Erving made the New York Nets the ABA's signature attraction and led championships in 1974 and 1976.

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Chapter 01

1967–68—1975–76

Franchise era

1976–77—1992–93

Buck Williams

Dražen Petrović

Derrick Coleman

From merger costs to a gifted young core

Finding footing in New Jersey

The NBA transition was costly, but Williams's consistency and the Petrović–Coleman teams eventually restored promise.

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Chapter 02

1976–77—1992–93

Franchise era

1993–94—2000–01

Kenny Anderson

Jayson Williams

Stephon Marbury

Kenny Anderson to the Marbury reset

Talent and turbulence

Injuries, tragedy and constant turnover kept New Jersey from converting individual talent into sustained success.

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Chapter 03

1993–94—2000–01

Franchise era

2001–02—2007–08

Jason Kidd

Vince Carter

Richard Jefferson

Back-to-back Finals through pace and defense

Kidd changes everything

Kidd transformed a 26-win team into an immediate Finals participant and later formed an electric perimeter trio with Carter and Jefferson.

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Chapter 04

2001–02—2007–08

Franchise era

2008–09—2015–16

Deron Williams

Brook Lopez

Kevin Garnett

A new arena, then the costly veteran trade

Brooklyn and the all-in gamble

The move to Brooklyn brought enormous ambition; the 2013 trade delivered one playoff run but surrendered the draft future.

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Chapter 05

2008–09—2015–16

Franchise era

2016–17—2018–19

D'Angelo Russell

Caris LeVert

Spencer Dinwiddie

Culture and development recover the franchise

The patient rebuild

Without its own premium picks, Brooklyn found undervalued players and built a surprising playoff team.

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Chapter 06

2016–17—2018–19

Franchise era

2019–20—present

Kevin Durant

Kyrie Irving

James Harden

Durant and Irving arrive; another future is rebuilt

The superstar swing and reset

A breathtaking collection of scorers never stayed healthy or stable long enough, leading Brooklyn back into an asset-driven rebuild.

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Chapter 07

2019–20—present

Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Brooklyn Nets games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Conference Semifinals

Conference Semifinals

Bucks vs Nets

Jun 19, 2021

#02 · Regular Season

Suns vs Nets

Dec 7, 2006

#03 · Regular Season

Nets vs Heat

Nov 7, 2005

#04 · Regular Season

Rockets vs Nets

Mar 10, 2012

#05 · Eastern Conference Semifinals

Eastern ConferenceSemifinals

Milwaukee Bucks vs New Jersey Nets

1984-05-10

Season history

Past seasons

50 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Brooklyn Nets games

4,203 total · loaded 10 at a time