Nothin' But Nets
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Nets: 4 Players You’d Never Believe Led Team in Scoring for a Season

By Jerry Trotta

Keith Van Horn looking on during a game against the Houston Rockets in 1999.
Keith Van Horn looking on during a game against the Houston Rockets in 1999. /
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2. Keith Van Horn

Brooklyn Nets
Keith Van Horn in action for the New Jersey Nets against the Indiana Pacers. /

Keith Van Horn had a sneaky good stint with the New Jersey Nets from 1997-2002.

Where were you in 1997-98 when Keith Van Horn was leading the Nets to a 43-39 finish and a berth in the playoffs as a freaking rookie? Typing that out felt all sorts of weird, probably because I never would have guessed that a man by the name of Keith Van Horn was, at one point in time, a burgeoning NBA icon. That season, the No. 2 overall pick registered 19.7 points per game, which led New Jersey in scoring.

It topped Sam Cassell’s 19.6 average by the finest of margins, but we’re not here to nitpick the particulars.

The fact here is that Van Horn was the Nets best player in a season where they finished fifth in the league with 99.6 points per contest. Sure, they were swept in the first round by the Chicago Bulls, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Utah product delivered one of the most potent rookie campaigns in recent memory. If not for Tim Duncan, Van Horn would’ve ran away with the Rookie of the Year award.