Nothin' But Nets
Fansided

Brooklyn Nets: 10 best rookie seasons in franchise history

By Phil Watson

NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 01: Kerry Kittles #30 of the New Jersey Nets poses for a portrait during the 1996 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on September 1, 1996 in New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and /or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 01: Kerry Kittles #30 of the New Jersey Nets poses for a portrait during the 1996 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot on September 1, 1996 in New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and /or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr./NBAE via Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – CIRCA 1975: Calvin Natt #43 of the New Jersey Nets rebounds against the Philadelphia 76ers during a game played circa 1975 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1975 NBAE (Photo by Ron Koch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

player. 147. . SF. 1979-80 New Jersey Nets. Calvin Natt. 5

After being named an All-American from lightly regarded Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe) in 1979, the New Jersey Nets took Calvin Natt with the eighth overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft and he arrived with a big bang.

Stepping into the small forward slot vacated early in training camp when Bernard King was traded, Natt emerged as a go-to guy on the offensive end with his slashing, driving style.

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He was averaging 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 38.6 minutes a game on .479/1-for-5/.711 shooting when he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in February 1980 for a package that included former All-Star Maurice Lucas and first-round picks in 1980 and 1981.

Natt went on to earn an All-Rookie first team spot, averaging more than 20 points per game after he got to Portland.

Natt spent parts of five seasons with the Blazers before going to the Denver Nuggets in a 1984 trade and earning his lone All-Star berth in 1985.

A ruptured Achilles cost him all but 20 minutes in 1986-87 and his knees limited him to just 65 games in his final three seasons, when he bounced from the Nuggets to the San Antonio Spurs to the Indiana Pacers and he retired in 1990 at age 33.

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