New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association that plays in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. They are currently based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The team was founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans and later changed its name to the New York Nets. The team is currently owned in a partnership of Bruce Ratner, Mary Higgins Clark and Shawn Jay-Z Carter. Lawrence Frank is the head coach of the present team. Navy, Red, Dark Silver and White are the official colors of the team. The franchise was a part of the American Basketball Association (ABA) before its merger with the NBA.

In the 1973-74 season Julius Erving also called affectionately as “Dr.J” was acquired by the Nets from Virginia Squares. Along with him the season was finished by the Nets with 55 victories which was a franchise record. Erving was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the ABA. With him the Nets moved ahead in the playoffs and in the 1974 ABA Finals defeated the Utah Stars and won their first title. This winning streak continued in the 1974-75 season also and the team won 58 games – this record is still existent. However in the first round of the 1975 ABA playoffs the Spirits of St. Louis defeated the Nets by four games to one.

In the 1975-76 season the Nets continued their winning habits. This season was the last for the ABA in which Erving led the Nets to 55 wins. He was selected as Most Valuable Player for a second time. The Nets won their second championship in three years.

During the early 1990s the Nets began to improve on a whole new set 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, but went down losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, three games to one.

Izod Center is the place where the Nets play all their home games. The arena has a maximum capacity of 20,049. Nate Archibald, Rick Barry, Julius Erving and Drazen Petovic are few of the players who have played for the Nets one time or the other and have found their name in the Hall of Famers.

In the 2007-08 season the Nets were seeded at 4th position of the Eastern conference. The Nets won only 34 games at the end of the regular season and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Major achievements

1 ABA Division title 4 NBA Division titles 2 Conference titles (2002, 2003) 2 ABA league championships (1974, 1976)