Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Brooklyn Nets.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Brooklyn, which is now entirely devoid of its big three, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden (which led to zero titles), is back to rebuilding. The Nets failed to make the playoffs, and there were no new entries, though two elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Jason Kidd
2. Julius Erving
3. Buck Williams
4. Brook Lopez
5. Vince Carter

You can find the entire list here.

Nic Claxton moved to #24 from #40. 

Spencer Dinwiddie, who was traded to the Lakers late in the year, still rose significantly from #35 to 28.

The jumps of Claxton and Dinwiddie reflect the few stars the Nets have had and the relative brevity of players' time there.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is important to us that the

This October, the Brooklyn Nets will be bestowing a significant honor upon recently elected Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, Vince Carter, by retiring his iconic number 15.

Vince Carter's tenure with the Toronto Raptors was a defining era for the team. He not only won the Rookie of the Year but also led the team to their first playoff, leaving a lasting legacy with his electrifying dunks. However, his frustration with Toronto’s coaching carousel led him to request a trade, which was granted in December of 2004 when he was sent to Brooklyn.

Carter remained with the Nets for four more full seasons, where he was a three-time All-Star who averaged 23.6 Points per Game for the team. He becomes the seventh player to have his number retired by the Nets, joining Julius Erving, Jason Kidd, Bill Melchionni, Drazen Petrovic, Buck Williams, and John Williamson.

Notably, the Toronto Raptors have not yet decided to retire Carter’s number 15, which at present is not attached to any player.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Vince Carter for his impending honor.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Brooklyn Nets.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Brooklyn made it to the playoffs, but they lost both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving who wanted out, this ending what should have been an NBA contender.  There is one new entrant and four elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. Jason Kidd

2. Julius Erving

3. Buck Williams

4. Brook Lopez

5. Vince Carter

You can find the entire list here.

Kevin Durant, who finished the year in Phoenix, went to #13 from #26, and the other of the departed, Kyrie Irving, rose to #17 from #25, which, yes, shocked us too.  Remember, this plays more into the team in question and that with so few players who can make an impact, elevating is easy for stars…even disgruntled ones.

Shooting Guard, Joe Harris, who is now with Detroit, went up one spot to #33.

The returning Spencer Dinwiddie, who came back to the Nets in the Kyrie trade, went up two spots to #35.

The lone new entrant is Nic Claxton, who debuts at #40.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

The last four years have been tumultuous for the Brooklyn Nets, who have watched stars arrive and leave without generating a championship, but they grew some stability with Nic Claxton at Center.

A high Second Round Pick from the University of Georgia, Claxton fought through injury and demotion to the G-League in his first two seasons but in 2021-22, Claxton was a regular in the rotation starting 19 Games averaging 8.7 Points and 5.6 Rebounds per Game.  Showing solid defense, Claxton became Brooklyn’s starting Center in 2022-23, and while his free throw shooting is abysmal, he is efficient in his shot selection, leading the league in 2022-23 in 2-Point Shooting Percentage, Shooting Percentage and Effective Shooting Percentage.

"The Slim Reaper" did not lead the NBA in any category last year, but had his best rebounding number with 9.9.  Claxton starts this campaign as a player on the rise, and he has the potential to rocket to the top ten of this list.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Brooklyn Nets.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Brooklyn made the playoffs, but were bounced in the first round in a disappointing year.  The impact of 2021-22 yielded one elevation and two new entrants.

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. Jason Kidd

2. Julius Erving

3. Buck Williams

4. Brook Lopez

5. Vince Carter

You can find the entire list here.

The controversial Point Guard, Kyrie Irving moved up to #25 from #35, a staggering amount considering how few Games he played last year, though this is more of an indictment on the tumultuous overturn of the franchise on a regular basis.  This made it easy for Irving who was still great when playing to make a jump like this.

Another polarizing figure, Kevin Durant, makes his first appearance at #26.  Again, like Irving, this was an easy vault, as he just needed to be…well…Kevin Durant.

Let’s make it three!  James Harden, who was only there a year, and never a full season, debuts at #40.  See the above to see how it can happen!

That’s basketball!

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Kevin Durant went down with a torn Achilles in the 2019 Finals when Golden State lost to the Toronto Raptors.  He made his intent clear to leave GSW for the Nets, and a sign-and-trade was engineered though Durant had to sit out the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign during injury.  

Making his return to the court in December of 2020, Durant was joined by James Harden three weeks later and along with Kyrie Irving, this was the next “big three” that would win it all!  That didn’t happen, and Harden barely lasted a year, but the Nets problems can not be traced to Durant’s performance (when healthy).  Durant was a Second Team All-NBA Selection lin 2021-22, but the cracks around the bg three formed.  After Harden left, Kyrie had his issues with off-court comments and his refusal to get vaccinated.  Durant and Irving were both unhappy, but despite their frustrations, they were still elite players, especially Durant.  Irving and Durant both wanted out of Brooklyn, and they got it, with KD traded to Phoenix.

As tumultuous as his run in BRK was, Durant was still a top-tier player, averaging 29.0 Points per Game, which was higher than he did anywhere else.  This is why he is still ranked so high despite the expecations in a Championship not being met.

The complex history of James Harden had a brief stop in Brooklyn, where as tumultuous as he might be, “The Beard” was still one of the top performers in Basketball.

After years of All-Star seasons, all with growing frustration that his Houston Rockets could not make the Finals, Harden asked for a trade in the 2020 off-season. Eight Games into the year, Harden obtained his wish, traded to the East with the Brooklyn Nets, who formed a new “Big Three” with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The promise was there, but the results did not matriculate.

The trio were rarely on the floor together due to rotating injuries, but Harden always sparked for the Nets when he played.  An All-Star in 2021, Harden was still a potent scorer, averaging 24.4 Points per Game for Brooklyn over 36 Games.  The following year, Harden was still scoring well, with a 22.5 PPG in 44 Games, but Harden again was frustrated, and asked for a trade, with Philadelphia being his landing point.

Harden never had a full season for Brooklyn, but the game of Basketball is a star’s contest where the elite dominate. Even with under 100 Games as a Net, the numbers don’t lie, even though it was overall a failed experiment.

The Brooklyn Nets have a problem. Last season was a bust and should have delivered much more than a limp first-round play-off loss to the Boston Celtics. Now the futures of two of their big names, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, are very much in doubt, and the former of that pair is said to have given his side an ultimatum in relation to his future at the Barclays Center.

The two-time NBA Champion is said to have told Nets owner Joe Tsai that unless he dispenses with the services of general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash, he’ll seek to leave Brooklyn. 

Last season the Nets were considered one of the favorites for the NBA title, and a fair amount of sports betting enthusiasts would have back that bet via sports-betting-ny.com only to see the side struggle for large chunks of the season and end with a very average regular season record of 44-38, and if it were not for Durant, that record could have been significantly worse. 

Subsequently, Tsai has moved to quash talk of either of his main backroom staff leaving, stating that they have his support and now there is growing speculation that Durant may push to join the Celtics, a trade that is aided by the fact that he has a strong relationship with Boston coach Ime Udoka, who he worked with at both Brooklyn and as part of the successful Team USA team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Kyrie Irving is also said not to be happy with the Marks and Nash combination but has less of a say in the matter given his problematic relationship with the Nets after missing out on large chunks of last season due to his vaccination status.

Durant, on the other hand, is a player with less baggage, and when he points out his issues with a coach and general manager, these are clearly going to be listened to, and now the ball is seemingly very much in Tsai’s court.

As a 12-time NBA All-Star, Durant has a great deal of sway in what happens with the Nets, and Brooklyn would do well to try to appease the situation as much as possible, even if this doesn’t mean acting on his advice to sack the pair.

If Durant were to leave, there would clearly be a lot of interested parties, and some speculation has arisen about a move to join the Phoenix Suns. 

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 added to the rumors via his sports talk show, stating;

"I'm hearing, and take it for what it's worth, ok? I'm hearing that Kevin Durant is expected to be in the Valley tonight,"

This was echoed by Mike Jurecki, who tweeted;

"Hearing KD landed in Phoenix around 7ish PM has a driver who also provides his security," 

"Technically, he can't meet with the Suns without permission which doesn't preclude him from talking to Suns players."

You can expect a lot more on this story, especially if the 33-year-old doesn’t directly discuss his plans on the matter any time soon.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Brooklyn Nets.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NBA. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision in two years, which includes the 2019 Championship Season.  This has resulted in three new entries, and one significant jump.

As always, we present our top five immediately, though nothing has changed in this upper-tier.

1. Jason Kidd

2. Julius Erving

3. Brook Lopez

4. Buck Williams

5. Vince Carter

You can find the entire list here.

Jarrett Allen, who is now with Cleveland, climbed from #39 to #18.

Three-Point sharpshooter, Joe Harris debuts at #27.

All-Star Point Guard, Kyrie Irving comes in at #37.

Current Indiana Pacer, Caris LeVert enters at #50.

We expect that Kevin Durant and James Harden will be in the top 50 next year, and debut high.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Kyrie Irving told the people of Boston that he would be there for years.  That was technically true, as it was only two.  Irving joined the Brooklyn Nets as a Free Agent in 2019, and he would be joined by Kevin Durant, who would be unable to play due to injury.

Injuries were also a factor for Irving, who only played 20 Games in his first Brooklyn season due to season-ending shoulder surgery.  He was far healthier in his second year, as was Durant, and they had an incoming James Harden, creating a superteam in the East.  Irving went to the All-Star Game that year, was a Third Team All-NBA Selection and he averaged 26.9 Points per Game.  Injuries among the big three prevented a deep run for the Nets, and it looked like they could get there soon, but an implosion was about to take place.

Irving refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine and was held to playing half of the season's worth of games in 2021-22.  Harden asked for a trade out of Brooklyn, and Irving seemingly became more and more controversial by the month.  He survived the season, and when the pandemic was over,, Irving went back to his usual self.  What did that mean?  He was still incredible on the court, and miserable off of it,  Irving was chosen for another All-Star Game, posted great numbers bt wanted out and got his wish, when the Nets engineered a trade to Dallas

Irving wasl a superstar and game-changer, but is an enigma wrapped in a riddle.  

Joe Harris was arguably a bust in his first two years in Cleveland, who traded him to Orlando.  The Magic immediately waived him, but the Nets thought he would worthy of a look, and signed him in 2018.

Harris had more playing time on the Nets, who were not nearly as competitive as the Cavs.  Harris started 11 (of 52) Games in his first year as a Net, and he played a little more the year after.  His shooting accuracy was improving, and in 2018-19, Harris was given the chance to be a starter.

Harris brought up his 3-Point Shooting Percentage to .474, and he led the NBA in that category.  This would become his specialty, as long-range shooting was his calling card, though a criticism of calling him one-dimensional would not be wrong.  As the Nets acquired superstars (Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, James Harden), Harris remained a starter, and in 2020-21, he was first again in 3-Point Shooting Percentage.  As the above superstars left, Harris remained a potent shooter from behind the arc, but his overall skills were stil lacking and he started less in 2022-23, which was his final year in Brooklyn, as he was traded to Detroit in the off-season.

 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Brooklyn Nets. 

The Nets were formed in 1967, as the New Jersey Americans an inaugural ABA franchise.  They would relocate after one year to New York City, and became the Nets, and with the arrival Julius Erving in 1974, they would win the ABA Title in 1974 and 1976.  The Nets were one of the four teams to join the NBA, but they did so without Erving.  They would return to New Jersey in 1977, where they would stay until 2012.  The Nets have yet to win the NBA Championship, but did win the Eastern Conference in 2002 and 2003.  They moved to Brooklyn in 2012, where they have remained since.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following: 

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NBA.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018-19 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Jason Kidd

2. Julius Erving

3. Buck Williams

4. Brook Lopez

5. Vince Carter

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

As always we thank you for your support.

A former SEC Player of the Year, Jan van Breda Kolff played a couple of seasons in the ABA before the team he was with (Kentucky) disbanded and he was selected by the New Jersey (then New York), who themselves were just arriving from the ABA.  His best season was his first with the Nets where he averaged 10.2 Points per Game.  The former Vanderbilt star would not start much but would play 434 Games for the Nets predominantly in a reserve role.

Mike Newlin played for the Houston Rockets for eight seasons and he was traded to the New Jersey Nets where he gained more playing time.  Newlin played for New Jersey for two seasons where he had the highest Points per Game of his career with seasons of 20.9 and 21.4 respectively, but his rank is affected as his other numbers were down and he was more one-dimensional.

A good defensive player over his professional career, it would begin for P.J. Brown with the New Jersey Nets where he played in his first three seasons in the NBA after electing to try the Greek League for a season.  The Center from Louisiana Tech likely made the right choice as the additional season probably helped him land a regular role with the Nets and he would be a decent defensive player.  Brown averaged 8.4 Points and 6.4 Rebounds per Game as a Net though his nest years would occur after he left with Miami where he would be a three-time Second Team All-Defensive Selection.

Yes, Sam Bowie is the answer to the question, “What player did the Portland Trail Blazers foolishly draft ahead of Michael Jordan” and there are many lists we can make around this, but for now, let’s focus on what Bowie did as a Net.

Larry Kenon was drafted by the Memphis Tams of the American Basketball Association but was traded to the Nets where he was named an ABA All-Star in his rookie season making an imposing frontcourt with “Dr. J”, Julius Erving.  “Mr. K” (or “Special K”) helped New York win the ABA Championship in 1974 and he averaged a double-double with 15.9 Points and 11.9 Rebounds per Game.  Kenon would again put up similar numbers in his second season (18.7 Points and 10.7 Rebounds per Game) but he was traded to San Antonio as they felt they could give up his rebounding for other playmakers.  Still, this a pretty good pair of seasons for the Nets, which earned him this decent ranking.

Mike O’Koren studied basketball collegiately under Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina and the New Jersey Nets would draft him 6^th overall in the 1980 Draft.  The Small Forward would average over 11 Points per Game in his first two seasons and would settle in as a reserve player over the next four years until he was traded to Washington.  He would play 392 Games for the Nets averaging 8.5 Points per Game.

Aaron Williams was undrafted out of Xavier and it took a long time for him to find his footing in the NBA.  In between stints with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Vancouver Grizzlies, Seattle SuperSonics, he played in the Continental League, the Italian League and the Croatian League.  He would have a decent season with the Washington Wizards and would sign with the New Jersey Nets for the 2000/01 campaign and would have the best four years of his career, with the first year seeing Williams put up career highs in Points (10.2), Rebounds (7.2) and Blocks (1.4) per Game.  Overall he would play 336 Games for New Jersey averaging 7.2 Points per Game.

The ranking of Joe Johnson was a struggle for us as prior to his arrival to the Nets he was a six-time All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks.  The Nets gave a lot to get the Shooting Guard but it may not have panned out overall.  That being said, as a Brooklyn Net he was named to his seventh and final All-Star Game in 2014 and averaged 14.7 Points per Game overall as a Net, which was a good number but way lower than his numbers with Atlanta.  Johnson’s advanced metrics were poor with a 13.8 PER in Brooklyn, which really states his overall game and decline in the state of New York.