Sometimes in the world of sports, certain teams can get caught up with the fact that they’re another team’s shadow. This is especially the case if both teams play in the city that never sleeps, like the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks.
Nearly five years ago, when the Brooklyn Nets made their fresh move to Brooklyn, they brought much more than a team with them. Along with the Nets came star players, a rebrand and winning ways. However, that’s not all Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov brought with the team; he also brought over a newfound obsession with the New York Knicks, the team they would be begin sharing New York City with.
“We will turn Knicks fans into Nets fans,” Prokhorov told reporters at his introductory press conference back in 2010, two years before the Nets completed the move to Brooklyn from New Jersey.
Now, seven years after Prokhorov’s comments, the Nets have done much more in five years than many would have expected. However, that isn’t exactly a good thing. That doesn’t mean they have won more games than expected or acquired stars or even fans. That simply means they have changed and made so many moves as a team that the last five years have been one strange roller coaster ride.
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The Nets have seen a plethora of players wear a black-and-white jersey. Over 50 different players have suited up for the Nets since the 2012-13 season, and that’s on average a little more than 10 new members of the team each season. That’s quite a lot compared to teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors, teams that have built internally and developed their talent year in and year out.
With that said, you can see how the Nets and Prokhorov’s win-now strategy did not pay off and just how frustrating it has been to be a Nets player or fan.