Since arriving in the borough back in 2012-13, the Brooklyn Nets have consistently been viewed as the little brother to their cross-river rival, the New York Knicks and, now in 2023-24, this has seemingly become more evident than ever.
Exemplified to a painful tee while squaring off against the Knickerbockers during their January 23 outing, despite being at home the crowd in attendance made it seem more like an away game, and this was something star centerpiece Mikal Bridges voiced during his post-game presser on the night.
Recently, these unsavory flames were stoked even more by a particular individual who once referred to Brooklyn and the Nets organization as "home."
During a February 10 press conference following his arrival to the Knicks at the NBA trade deadline, former forward Bojan Bogdanovic discussed his familiarity with playing in New York, highlighting his tenure with the Nets, though, in the process, revealed that despite his specific employment situation, the majority of his friends were still Knicks fans.
Bojan Bogdanovic throws subtle jab at Nets in Knicks presser
"I played with the Nets, but all my friends are New Yorkers and they’re all Knicks fans so it's going to be even better for them as well to see me in a Knicks jersey."Bojan Bogdanovic
Bogdanovic spent the first two-and-a-half years of his NBA career playing for the Nets, a tenure that lasted from 2014 to mid-way through the 2016-17 season. During his stint, he established himself as a trusty scoring punch off the pine and posted averages of 11.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from deep.
Following the February 8 trade cutoff, the Croatian-born baller finds himself back in the Big Apple where he's slated to serve in a similar role he held in Brooklyn albeit with the Knicks.