Brooklyn Nets Playoff History

The Brooklyn Nets is a professional basketball team in the NBA. They are part of the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division of the League. The team was founded in 1967. It plays its home games at Barclays Center which has the capacity to seat 19,000 fans.

The Nets are one of two NBA teams present in the city of New York, the other team being the New York Knicks. The franchise is owned by Joseph Tsai, who is a Taiwanese-Canadian businessman. The team was initially part of the ABA before moving to the NBA as part of the merger between the two leagues.

As part of the ABA, the Nets were named the New Jersey Americans. They then relocated to Long Island and were named as the New York Nets. The team returned to New Jersey as the New Jersey Nets in 1977 but changed their name to Brooklyn Nets upon relocation to Brooklyn in 2012. The Nets have been home to multiple historic figures in basketball such as Julius Erving, Jason Kidd, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

How many times has the Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs?

In their franchise history, the Brooklyn Nets have made it to the NBA postseason 24 times. This number does not include the appearances by the team in the ABA as the NBA does not recognize ABA history and statistics. As part of the NBA, the Nets saw their most successful seasons in 2001-02 and 2002-03. The Nets made deep playoff runs, reaching the NBA finals in both seasons. At this point, the team was led by Jason Kidd and Brian Scalabrine.

Aside from the two aforementioned years, the Nets have made it to the postseason but these seasons have been characterized by quick exits from the playoffs with the team getting past the 1st round at the most.

Brooklyn Nets Playoff Record

The Brooklyn Nets have a losing record in the NBA postseason. The team has played 171 playoff games and has won just 70 games. The Nets have lost 101 playoff games. This indicated a 40% winning rate in the Nets playoff history. The Nets however, have a winning record in the ABA’s playoff history with 37 wins against 32 losses. Since the NBA does not consider ABA history, these wins are not taken into consideration.

The Brookly Nets’ most memorable playoff run was seen in the 2001-02 NBA season. The Nets fought hard to win against strong teams in the postseason, eventually reaching the NBA finals. In spite of losing the finals, the season marked a period of success for the Nets who had made a deep playoff run and brought the team recognition, having played under the shadow of the New York Knicks.

Number of conference championships won by Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have won two Eastern Conference Championships. These were won in back to back NBA seasons in 2001-02 and 2002-03. In both seasons, the Nets were tested against strong teams such as Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets and Boston Celtics in the 2001-02 season and the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons in 2002-03.

The Nets faced off against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons in the respective Eastern Conference Finals. While the series against the Celtics was competitive, with Celtics taking the series to 6 games, the series against Pistons was more one-sided with the Pistons getting swept by the Nets.

Number of NBA championships won by Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets is amongst those NBA franchises to have never won an NBA championship. As part of the ABA, the team won two titles but that statline remains 0 for the team, so far in the NBA. The Nets have made it to the NBA finals on two occasions in the years 2001-02 and 2002-03. In 2001-02, the Nets faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals.

The series was one-sided with the Lakers winning the title in just four games under the leadership of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. In 2002-03, the finals were played by Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs. This series was more competitive, lasting six games. The Spurs at this point, had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Stephen Jackson on their roster. After a hard fought series, the Nets fell to the Spurs in a 2-4 loss.

Brooklyn Nets Last Playoff Appearance

The Brooklyn Nets made their most recent appearance in the NBA postseason in the year 2022-23. They finished the regular season placed 6th on the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 45 wins to 37 losses. Their position on the standings led them to play against the 3rd seeded Philadelphia 76ers. By this time, the experiment of combining Ben Simmons, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had failed and the Nets had a relatively young roster who lacked experience.

Some of these players included Cameron Johnson, Mikal Bridges and Nicholas Claxton. The 76ers on the other hand has acquired James Harden from the Nets and were relying on the capabilities of big man Joel Embid. In addition, the 76ers also had several role players such as Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey. A combination of 76ers’ star power and the Nets’ lack of experience and chemistry led to the Nets being swept in the first round of the playoffs.

What is the biggest playoff series comeback in Brooklyn Nets history?

2001-02

The Brooklyn Nets experienced many thrilling moments throughout the 2001-02 NBA playoffs. The team fought hard in the postseason in matchups that were very competitive. The team faced the Indiana Pacers in the first round. In the first three games the Nets found themselves to be losing the series 1-2 after which they rallied to win the next two games and progress to the next round.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Nets faced off against the Boston Celtics. The series was not in favor of either team with the record being leveled four games into the series. The Celtics took a 2-1 lead but the Nets won the next three games in a row, progressing to the NBA finals. While they lost the finals, the road to the finals was one that tested the Nets team.