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Being a fan of the Brooklyn Nets is truly an experience of agony and confusion and it will have you questioning whether you should be a basketball fan or not.
The Nets have been and will forever be my number one sports team. The Devils, the Ravens, Red Bull, Michigan State, and Seton Hall could all theoretically win championships, but the Nets winning the NBA Finals would top all of them.
Unfortunately, this team’s luck is disgustingly horrible and I just wonder, what did I do to deserve this? They moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn, they had that horrendous trade with the Celtics in 2013, Kevin Durant’s foot was on the line. Surely, after years of tanking, The Basketball Gods would bless this organization with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, right?
Looking back at 2025, I was really hoping that the Nets would land Cooper Flagg with the first pick. Of course, the Nets got the eighth pick and selected Egor Dëmin out of BYU. I believe Dëmin will do great things, but Flagg was phenomenal in his rookie season and he ended up winning Rookie of the Year.
Ok, so after another rough season, it looked possible that the Nets could get the first pick. Fans heard all season how amazing the freshman class was in college basketball so surely, the Nets would be blessed with one of the top players come June. Draft analysts have considered Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa to be the top three players in this year's edition.
For me, I never wanted Peterson on the Nets, mainly due to his injury problems that riddled his freshman campaign. I wouldn’t have minded Boozer honestly, I just wished I watched more of his games at Duke. Dybantsa, though, I begged and prayed that the Nets would land the number one pick to select him in June.
On the court, Dybantsa is an athletic, explosive, scoring beast who I thought would have taken BYU to great heights this past season. He was the leading scorer in the nation, an All-American, and he battled through a competitive Big 12 and non-conference slate.
Off the court, AJ seems like a genuinely great person. Very friendly to others, very social online, very intelligent, possess great leadership qualities. Even with him leaving college early, he promised his mom that he would finish and get his degree soon.
After seeing all of this, I hoped that the Nets’ fortunes in the Draft Lottery would help them land the lustrous first overall pick. Seeing my teams pick first overall is nothing new. The Devils selected Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes first overall in their respective drafts and look at how they have done in the NHL.
As I was bored at work on Sunday, I constantly kept checking my phone for any alerts on the Lottery, hoping to see these words. “The Brooklyn Nets will be selecting first overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.”
Then, I got a text. That’s when I realized something awful had occurred. Turns out, the Nets will be selecting sixth overall in this year’s Draft.
There’s a clip of Rick Pitino after St. John’s lost to Creighton a few seasons back and well, I felt how he felt after that loss.
After finishing with the third worst record in the NBA, the Nets will be picking sixth instead of having a top-3 pick. To say I am beyond frustrated is just a mere fraction of what I am feeling.
First off, I will support this team no matter what happens. Having been a fan of them for a long time now, I have been through everything with them.
What disappoints me is how unlucky this franchise is. For once, I want fans, like myself, to experience the euphoria that fans experienced in the early 2000s.
Imagine being a fan in New Jersey from the years 2001 to 2003. The Nets reached back-to-back NBA Finals with the likes of Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson.and others.
Given that I was born in July 2003, I was never able to watch my team in the Finals. By the time I was in Kindergarten, the team was back to being average. Also, I don't want to talk about them going 12-70 in the 2009-10 season.
Sunday’s Draft Lottery proved once again that no matter what this team does, nothing will change. From some mock drafts that were published, experts have Illinois’ Keaton Wagler and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. being selected by the Nets. Honestly, given that they both had awesome seasons in college hoops, that makes me a little pleased.
Then, I realized, we took four guards last year. Wagler and Acuff Jr. are both guards by the way.
I really wanted to talk about how special of a fit Dybantsa would have been in Brooklyn. Unless Brooklyn trades up, there’s absolutely no chance he slides to the Nets at six.
For Washington Wizards fans, be glad that an outstanding player is coming to your team with the first pick. For a diehard Nets fan like myself, I will continue to pray for good days ahead.
I am mentally preparing myself for the moment the Nets make a dumb trade for a star player because the Knicks somehow won the Finals.