In 2012, the Brooklyn Nets brought professional sports back to their once-gritty-now-trendy New York borough for the first time since the Brooklyn Dodgers left to play baseball in sunny Los Angeles more than half a century before. The Nets didn’t have quite so far to move from their previous home of New Jersey, only a short hop across the Hudson River and island of Manhattan. The team joined the NBA in 1976, promptly chalking up the worst record in the league and continuing to struggle for over two decades in which they missed the playoffs more often than not and only made it past the First Round once when they did. The Nets’ fortunes abruptly changed in 2001 with the arrival of iconic point guard Jason Kidd, who led the Nets to two straight NBA Finals appearances with his masterful shooting, rebounding, and passing. Unfortunately for Nets fans, the team lost both Finals, to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002 and San Antonio Spurs in 2003, and to this day have never been back. The Nets remained strong for several more years, but then lapsed back into missing the playoffs until they made their 2012 move to Brooklyn. Since then, they have bounced back slightly, making the playoffs most years but rarely getting very far. As is tradition, they bowed out to the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 in the 2023 Playoffs. Despite their team lacking a recognised superstar after trading away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets fans are trying to remain optimistic heading into the 2023-24 season that their team can pull together and break through in the playoffs.

Image Credit: “LeBron James” © Erik Drost (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)