The New Jersey Nets began their existence in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as the New Jersey Americans. They only spent one season (1967-68) under that name before becoming the New York Nets. The Nets moved to New Jersey in 1977, after they joined the NBA as part of the merger.

The Nets now play their home games at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but they are slated to move to Brooklyn, New York, in 2011.

The Nets’ head coach is Lawrence Frank. Rap mogul Jay-Z is a member of the ownership group.

Early Years

As the New Jersey Americans, the team failed to make the playoffs. However, they began making the ABA playoffs by their second season as the New York Nets. Led by Rick Barry, they made it to the ABA Finals in 1972, but lost.

In 1973, the Nets acquired forward Julius Erving from the Virginia Squires. Erving, nicknamed “Dr. J,” was a high-flying, above-the-rim basketball artist who helped the Nets win games and gave the team — and the league — a certain cache. The NBA had more teams, and more money, but the ABA had “The Doctor.”

Erving led the Nets to two ABA titles in three years, including the last title in the history of the defunct league.

NBA Finals Appearances

While the Nets made three ABA Finals appearances, winning the title twice, they are still looking for their first NBA title. The closest they have come are the two Finals appearances they made in 2002 and 2003.

In 2001, the Nets traded point guard Stephon Marbury to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd. Kidd, a perennial league leader in assists and one of the league’s best defensive point guards, immediately changed the team chemistry. The Nets finished 52-30 and beat Indiana, Charlotte (Hornets, not Bobcats) and Boston en route to the Finals, where they faced the L.A. Lakers. They were no match for Shaq, Kobe and company, however, and were swept in four games.

The Kidd-led Nets proved the 2001-02 season was no fluke, winning 49 games the following season and getting to the Finals again, this time facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs beat the Nets, four games to two.

Since 2003, the Nets have yet to get past the Eastern Conference semifinals.

2007-08 Season

The most significant thing to happen to the Nets in 2007-08 was the trading of Jason Kidd to the team that drafted him, the Dallas Mavericks. In return, the Nets got speedy point guard Devin Harris, gaining youth and quickness but giving away rebounding, passing, and savvy veteran leadership. The team went 34-48, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2001 (the season before the Kidd acquisition).

2008-09 Outlook

The Nets will begin 2008-09 with a wholly different look from the start of last season. Harris replaces the departed Kidd. Richard Jefferson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian. The Nets picked Stanford big man Brook Lopez with the 10th pick in the 2008 draft, and drafted Memphis shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts in the second round. Lawrence Frank will have to get these players on the same page in a hurry if the Nets wish to leave the state of New Jersey on a winning note.

Greatest Players

Nate Archibald, Rick Barry, Derrick Coleman, Julius Erving, Jason Kidd, Buck Williams

Like many NBA teams, the Golden State Warriors are currently in a state of flux. The team, which is based in Oakland and plays its home games at Oracle Arena, was hailed as an up-and-comer in the Western Conference two seasons ago. Since then, they have been up and down, a talented young team capable of pulling off stunning upsets or losing a string of games. In the ultra-competitive Western Conference, the Warriors have struggled to find their place.

Early Years

The Warriors began their existence on the East Coast, as a member of the old Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Philadelphia Warriors were one of the original league members, winning the BAA’s first championship over the Chicago Stags. They boasted one of the league’s stars, “Jumping Joe” Fulks.
In 1959, the Warriors drafted Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain, a strong and agile big man who changed the way the game was played. As a Philadelphia Warrior, Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game on March 2, 1962, against the New York Knicks. His single-game scoring record still stands today.

The team moved to San Francisco, Calif., in 1962, and were renamed the San Francisco Warriors. They began playing home games at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1966, and in 1971 they changed their name to the Golden State Warriors. To this day, they are the only NBA team whose nickname does not include their home state or city.

Championships

The Warriors have won two NBA championships in their history, one on each coast. As the Philadelphia Warriors, they defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons, four games to one, to win the 1955-56 title. As the Golden State Warriors, they upset the heavily favored Washington Bullets to become the 1974-75 champs. That team was led by notable players like Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes, yet they were tremendous underdogs. Someone forgot to tell the Warriors that; they swept the Bullets in four games.

“Run-TMC”

The Warriors faded into NBA obscurity during the late 1970s and early ‘80s, but a trio of draft picks would put them back into the limelight in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin played so well together, and scored so many points in such a high-flying style, that they garnered the nickname “Run-TMC.” The nickname was a play on the rap group Run-DMC, incorporating the first initials of Tim (Hardaway), Mitch (Richmond), and Chris (Mullin).

The trio played a high-speed, run-and-gun style that flustered many opponents and cemented head coach Don Nelson’s reputation as the mad genius of the NBA. They were the NBA’s highest-scoring threesome of the 1990-91 season. But Nelson, who is known to tinker with his teams even when they’re successful, traded Richmond for Billy Owens and broke up the trio.

2007-08 Season

After upsetting the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2006-07 playoffs, hopes were high for the Warriors in 2007-08. But shooting guard Jason Richardson was traded away to the Charlotte Bobcats for Brandan Wright, and forward Stephen Jackson was suspended for an incident involving a firearm. The team did not live up to expectations and ended up missing the playoffs.

The offseason brought change to the organization. Star point guard Baron Davis opted out of his contract and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Corey Maggette migrated to the Warriors from the Clippers.

2008-09 Outlook

The Western Conference is historically tough, and has gotten tougher with the addition of Pau Gasol to the Lakers, Jason Kidd to the Mavericks, and Shaquille O’Neal to the Suns. Whether Golden State’s off-season acquisitions will allow them to keep pace remains to be seen. But teams around the league know that Don Nelson thrives in the role of underdog. If the Golden State Warriors can make the playoffs, few teams will want to see them in the first round.