New Jersey Nets
From Hoopedia
The New Jersey Nets have endured their share of difficulties since they first took the floor as the New Jersey Americans in 1967. One of 11 original American Basketball Association teams, the club has played in six arenas in the New York metropolitan area. Along the way, the franchise soared to the top of the ABA on the back of Julius "Dr. J" Erving, then fell to the cellar upon entry into the NBA. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the Nets' slow rise to respectability in the NBA's Eastern Conference and, following a 43-39 mark in 1997-98 and an appearance in the playoffs, the franchise appears to be back on solid ground.
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History
During the summer of 1968, the ABA's New Jersey Americans moved to Commack, Long Island, and were renamed the New York Nets, after one of the most important parts of the basketball game--the net--and because it rhymed with Mets and Jets.
The New York Nets) won the last ABA championship in 1976. Prior to the 1976-77 season, the Nets, along with the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and Indiana Pacers, joined the National Basketball Association. Prior to the 1977-78 season, the team moved back to New Jersey. If you think that's complicated, go here for more New Jersey Nets Franchise History.
Home Courts
| Arena | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Teaneck Armory | 1967-1968 | New Jersey Americans (ABA) |
| Long Island Arena | 1968-1969 | New York Nets (ABA) |
| Island Garden | 1969-1971 | New York Nets (ABA) |
| Nassau Coliseum | 1971-1976 | New York Nets (ABA) |
| Nassau Coliseum | 1976-1977 | New York Nets (NBA) |
| Louis Brown (Rutgers University) Athletic Center | 1977-1981 | New Jersey Nets (NBA) |
| Continental Airlines Arena | 1981-2007 | Formerly Brendan Byrne Arena |
| Izod Center | 2007-present | Formerly Continental Airlines Arena |
Planned Relocation to Brooklyn
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 on the Suggestion of part owner Sean "Jay-Z" Carter.
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 NHL's New Jersey Devils as the only major professional sports team with the state's name attached. (The NFL's Giants and Jets play in New Jersey, but still call themselves "New York" teams.)
The arena is in the final planning stages and if approved, the Nets would move across the Hudson River for the 2009-10 season. In September of 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 Newark Star-Ledger stated that Net 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 is scheduled to open for the start of the 2007-08 hockey season. New Jersey state officials have called to close the Continental Arena once the Newark Arena opens, 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.
On January 18, 2007, it was announced the planned Brooklyn arena that 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 broke ground in February 2007.
Retired Numbers
| Number | Player |
|---|---|
| 3 | Drazen Petrovic |
| 4 | Wendell Ladner |
| 23 | John Williamson |
| 25 | Bill Melchionni |
| 32 | Julius Erving |
| 52 | Buck Williams |
