1976–77 New York Nets season

Professional basketball team season (1st in NBA) August 2023 March 2026 New York Nets 1977 22 60 Atlantic 5 11 Kevin Loughery Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum WOR-TVCablevision Sports 3 WMCA Did not qualify NYN New Jersey Nets The 1976–77 New York Nets season was the tenth season for the franchise, the ninth and final season where the team went by the New York Nets name after previously going by the New Jersey Americans in their first season in the now-defunct American Basketball Association, and the first for the team in the NBA. It was also their only NBA season that they played in Long Island before they moved back to New Jersey while retaining the Nets name they've had ever since their second season in the ABA. This season was notable for, as the franchise owner at the time Roy Boe described it, trading the team's very soul for a berth into the NBA since as they were the only ABA team intruding upon another NBA team's territory at the time (in this case, the New York Knicks' territory for the New York City area), the Nets in particular had to pay an extra fee for the Knicks just to play in the NBA. While the Nets tried to get the Knicks to waive the extra fee, to the point of even allowing them their star Julius Erving to join the Knicks instead, the Nets would only really make it by trading Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers in order to secure a berth into the NBA instead. Their forced trade of Dr. J to the 76ers just to secure their permanent entry into the NBA resulted in them going from being the final champions in ABA history to the worst team in the NBA in their first year of entry, with them not only finishing the season with a 22–60 record, but also not even getting the #1 pick that year due to them losing the coin toss to the Milwaukee Bucks (or at least, they would have had they not also traded that draft pick to the Kansas City Kings earlier in the season as well just to help themselves get the payment they need to enter the NBA properly), which forced them to have the #7 pick in the 1977 NBA draft instead due to the Nets trading with fellow ABA-turned-NBA team Indiana Pacers as a means to help each other out since they were both struggling in their own ways during their first seasons out in the NBA. ABA Dispersal Draft 1976 ABA dispersal draft The New York Nets would be one of four ABA teams to not participate in the 1976 NBA draft, nor would they be able to hold an ABA draft of sorts due to the ABA-NBA merger that was taking place in June 1976. However, they would be able to participate in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft, with the Nets being the last team to select a player in the first round of the dispersal draft. The player they would select in the first round (which later became the penultimate pick of that draft) was Jan van Breda Kolff from the Kentucky Colonels, which they then purchased to have him join their team for $60,000. Roster New York Nets 1976–77 1 Nate Archibald PG 6 1 150 1948-09-02 UTEP yes 42 Mike Bantom SF 6 9 200 1951-12-03 St. Joseph's 21 Tim Bassett PF 6 8 225 1951-04-01 Georgia 31 Mel Davis PF 6 6 220 1950-11-09 St. John's 40 Jim Fox basketball, born 1943 C 6 10 230 1943-04-07 South Carolina 11 Robert Hawkins basketball SG 6 4 190 1954-06-30 Illinois State 35 Kim Hughes basketball C 6 11 220 1952-06-04 Wisconsin 30 Al Skinner SG 6 3 190 1952-06-16 Massachusetts 12 Chuck Terry SF 6 6 215 1950-09-27 Long Beach State 20 Jan van Breda Kolff Jan van Breda Kolff SF 6 7 195 1951-12-16 Vanderbilt 15 Dave Wohl PG 6 2 185 1949-11-02 Penn Kevin Loughery Rod Thorn https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYN/1977.html February 2, 1977 Regular season In a special $6 million deal, the Nets sold Julius Erving, the ABA's leading scorer, to the Philadelphia 76ers for $3 million.http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19761977.html NBA.com: Walton, Lucas Ignite 'Blazermania' 2008-05-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20120223215047/http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19761977.html 2012-02-23 dead The other $3 million went to Erving, by way of a new contract. Season standings NYN NYN References New York Nets on Basketball Reference New York Nets Category:Brooklyn Nets seasons New York Nets New York Nets Category:Sports in Hempstead, New York