Brooklyn Nets: Top Five Moments In Franchise History

3. 1976 ABA Title

The second title probably wasn’t as sweet as the first, but it was sweet nonetheless. Kevin Loughery coached this New York Nets team to a 55-29 record, second in the league to Denver’s 60-24, with Julius Erving doing almost all of the heavy lifting.

En route to his third-straight ABA MVP, the Doctor was dominant as ever and torched his contemporaries with averages of 29.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and five assists while playing in all 84 games that year. By ABA standards, the Nets’ 111.8 points per game average were mediocre at best, and it put them at fifth out of the nine teams; their defense, however, was tremendous (remember, this is by ABA standards), and they allowed just under 109 points a night. Their sustained dominance got them a first-round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, who were led by 23-year-old George Gervin. Iceman dueled Doctor J for all seven games, but Erving and the Nets escaped after edging out the Spurs 121-114 in the series finale.

Doc put up 32.1 points a game through the series and focus shifted toward the Nuggets’ duo of Dan Issel and David Thompson.

As a 21-year-old rookie, David “Skywalker” Thompson averaged 26 points on 51.5 percent shooting; Issel, 27, chipped in 23 points and 11 boards per contest. It’s safe to say, the Nets would have their hands full.

In true ABA fashion, all six games were shootouts. Doc, as expected, was at the head of it with 37.7 points per. John Williamson was the second leading scorer at 22.5. The combination of Thompson and Issel wasn’t enough, and Denver fell in six games. Together, they put up a hellacious effort in the series finale. Thompson scored 42 on 16/23 shooting while Issel went for 30 points and 20 rebounds.

Next: No. 2