Team:
New Jersey Nets
Sport: NBA Basketball
Background: The New Jersey Nets are
a National Basketball Association team based in East
Rutherford, New Jersey. In 2004, the franchise was
sold to Bruce Ratner, who announced plans to move
it to Brooklyn, New York.
Founded: 1967, a founding member
of the American Basketball Association
Formerly known as: New Jersey Americans
(1967-1968), New York Nets (1968-1977)
Home Arena: Continental Airlines
Arena
Uniform colors: Midnight blue, White,
Red, and Silver
Logo design: A blue shield with the
word "NETS" above and a basketball below,
going through a hoop
Franchise History:
The New Jersey Nets franchise has endured
its share of difficulties since it first took the
floor 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.
The franchise was the result of the ABA's desire to
field a team in New York City, the nation's media
center and glamour capital. Having a team in the Big
Apple would provide the league with some desperately
needed legitimacy. What it ended up with was the New
Jersey Americans, a ragtag team that played in a converted
armory in Teaneck, New Jersey. It was neither what
the league nor owner Arthur Brown had in mind, but
it was the best Brown could do after a frantic search
for an arena in Manhattan had turned up nothing.
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Brown tabbed Max Zaslofsky as his head coach. Zaslofsky
had starred for the Chicago Stags, the New York Knicks,
and the Fort Wayne Pistons from 1946 to 1955. At the
start of 1967 he had been coaching the team fielded
by Brown's trucking company.
Brown gave Zaslofsky a makeshift bunch to work with.
Center Dan Anderson came to the Americans from the
Akron Goodyears, an industrial team playing under
the auspices of the AAU; forward Tony Jackson was
a 26-year-old graduate of St. John's playing his first
professional season; the other starting forward, Hank
Whitney, was a 28-year-old rookie. The rest of the
team featured the likes of Bruce Spraggins, Mel Nowell
(who had played with Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek
at Ohio State), Bobby Lloyd, John Mathis, and Dexter
Westbrook. Only a handful of players lasted more than
a year in the pro ranks, and none had careers that
stretched beyond two seasons.
Basketball Hall of Famers:
• Julius Erving
• Drazen Petrovic
Not to be forgotten:
• Alonzo
Mourning
• Dikembe Mutombo
Retired numbers:
• 3 Drazen
Petrovic
• 4 Wendell
Ladner
• 23 John Williamson
• 25 Bill Melchionni
• 32 Julius
Erving
• 52 Buck Williams
Current stars:
• Jason
Kidd
• Kerry Kittles
• Kenyon Martin
• Rodney Rogers
• Richard Jefferson
Basketball Hall of Famers:
• Chuck
Daly
External links:
• Jersey Nets official
web site (http://www.nba.com/nets)
• Official
Summer Pro League web site (http://www.summerproleague.com/)
