|
The Brooklyn Nets, a professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, was founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans, later the New Jersey Nets. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In 2012 they moved to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Nets. ==1967–1976: The ABA years== The franchise was established in 1967 as a founding member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), with trucking magnate Arthur J. Brown as the owner. Brown had operated several AAU teams in and around New York City, and was viewed as an ideal pick to run the nascent league's New York franchise.〔 The team was named the ''New York Americans'', and Brown intended for it to play at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan, but pressure from the New York Knicks of the older National Basketball Association (NBA) forced the Armory to back out three months before opening day. Brown found it difficult to find a suitable replacement venue in New York, as some were booked solid, and others had owners who didn't want to anger the Knicks by opening their doors to a rival team. The team was left scrambling for a venue with opening day approaching, and it finally settled on the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, and changed its team name to the New Jersey Americans, though its franchise name remained the New York Americans.〔 The Americans played fairly well in their first season, tying the Kentucky Colonels for the fourth (and final) playoff spot in the Eastern Division. However, the Teaneck Armory was booked, forcing the Americans to scramble for a last-minute replacement. They found one in the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1967–68 ABA Regular Season Standings )〕 However, when the Americans and Colonels arrived, they found that the floor had several missing boards and bolts, and was unstable in several areas (one player claimed to have seen one side of the floor come up when he stepped on another).〔 There was no padding on the backboards or basket supports, and one basket appeared to be higher than the other. There was also a large amount of condensation from a hockey game the previous night. After the Colonels refused to play under these conditions, league commissioner George Mikan ruled that the Americans had failed to provide acceptable playing facilities and forfeited the game to the Colonels, 2–0.〔Goldaper, Sam. ("AMERICANS OUT OF A.B.A. PLAYOFF; Mikan Rules Commack Site Unfit, Forfeits Game" ), ''The New York Times'', March 25, 1968. Accessed April 12, 2012. "The American Basketball Association playoffs started in Minnesota yesterday between the Kentucky Colonels and the Minnesota Muskies and the New Jersey Americans were looking in from the outside following a comedy of errors."〕 After a planned move to Newark, New Jersey fell through the team opted to stay at the Long Island Arena for the second year, and changed its name to the New York Nets.〔Goldaper, Sam. ("LONG ISLAND GETS A.B.A. FRANCHISE; Americans Renamed Nets and Moved to Commack" ), ''The New York Times'', July 16, 1968. Accessed May 12, 2012.〕 The name "Nets" was used because it rhymes with the names of two other professional sports teams that played in the New York metropolitan area at the time: Major League Baseball's New York Mets and the American Football League's New York Jets, and because it relates to basketball in general, as it is part of the basket. The team finished last in its first New York season and drew a paltry 1,108 a game, about half of what it had drawn a year earlier. They posted a 17–61 record, and shuffled 23 different players on and off the roster. Brown sold the team to clothing manufacturer Roy Boe after that season. Boe started off his ownership with big hopes for the offseason. Desperate for a star, the team pursued UCLA star Lew Alcindor, and won rights to him in a secret ABA draft.〔Goldaper, Sam. ("Nets Obtain Rights to Alcindor In Secret A.B.A. Draft Session" ), ''The New York Times'', February 18, 1969. Accessed April 16, 2012.〕 Alcindor was reportedly interested in playing in his native New York, but after contemplating his options for a month, he instead opted to sign with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks.〔("Alcindor Rejects A.B.A.'s $3.2-Million Offer and Will Sign With Bucks; U.C.L.A. STAR ASKS HALT TO BIDDING" ), ''The New York Times'', March 30, 1969. Accessed April 16, 2012.〕 Nonetheless the Nets moved on with their offseason plans to relocate to the Island Garden in West Hempstead. Led by an ABA top-3 scoring guard Levern Tart, the Nets finished in fourth place and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in the 1969–70 season, and attendance went up threefold to 3,504. During the 1970 offseason, the team finally managed to acquire a star in Rick Barry after trading their No. 1 pick and cash to the Virginia Squires.〔"Rick Barry Is Traded to Nets by Squires for No. 1 Draft Choice and Cash", ''The New York Times'', September 3, 1970.〕 After another playoff season at the Island Garden, the team moved to the brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale for the end of the 1971–72 season. In 1972, two years after the acquisition of Barry, the Nets advanced to their first ABA finals.〔(Remember the ABA: 1971–72 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results )〕 However, they could not overcome the Indiana Pacers and lost the series four games to two.〔 Barry left after that postseason, sending the Nets into rebuilding mode. The 1972–73 season was one of disappointment, as the Nets only managed to win 30 games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1972–73 ABA Regular Season Standings )〕 The 1973–74 season saw the Nets finally put all the pieces together. The key event of the season though would come in the 1973 offseason, as the Nets acquired Julius Erving from the Virginia Squires. With Erving, who was affectionately known as "Dr. J", the Nets ended the season with a franchise record 55 victories. After Erving was voted the ABA's MVP, the Nets advanced in the playoffs and won their first title, defeating the Utah Stars in the 1974 ABA Finals. The success continued into the 1974–75 season as they topped the previous season's win record by winning 58 games〔(Remember the ABA: 1974–75 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results )〕—a record that still stands to this day. The Nets, though, were eliminated four games to one, by the Spirits of St. Louis in the first round of the 1975 ABA playoffs. The Nets continued their winning ways in the 1975–76 season—the final season for the ABA—with Erving leading them to a successful 55–win season; he also was named MVP again that year. After a grueling series with the Denver Nuggets, the Nets won the last ABA championship series in league history in six games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1975–76 Regular Season Standings )〕 The series clincher had Erving leading the Nets on a massive fourth quarter comeback at the Nassau Coliseum after being down 22 points in the third quarter.〔Montgomery, Paul L. "Nuggets, Up by 22 Points, Lose, 112–106, in Sixth Game: Backup Center for Nets Excels at Center Stage", ''The New York Times'', May 14, 1976.〕 The win gave the team their second championship in three years.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of the Brooklyn Nets」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|