The New Jersey Nets, who debuted in the NBA in 1976, played the last home game in its history Monday. The franchise is moving to Brooklyn next season, and the Nets were in no danger of making the playoffs this year. For the last game, the team brought back a battalion of former players from throughout the franchise’s 35-year history. They interviewed many of the players and asked them about their favorite memory from their Nets career.
And it was astonishing to hear how uninterested the players from recent years sounded. The players from the Nets teams in the late 70s and 80s were full of stories you could barely believe. The players from the last 15-20 years looked as if they were explaining a bee sting or some other mildly unpleasant memory. Below are the verbatim responses from several former players and coaches about their favorite Nets moment, along with the years they played for the Nets:
