Manhattan newspapers like the New York Times, can ignore us. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can dis us with her Bronx swagger and the borough may be the running stereotype about hipsters, but old Brooklyn is still in the house as long as we have the Brooklyn Nets.
And tonight, I’m signing out a bit early from KCP to attend my first game this year.
That’s right. Game on and it’s fast becoming clear that it’s the Brooklyn Nets – and not the old school and sorry-assed Manhattan Knicks – that is proudly representing New York City in the NBA at the highest level of the most popular street game in America.
The Nets have seemingly come out of nowhere this year from being a basement or near basement dweller to having the best record in the league over the past month, and are now two games over .500. This includes wins over some top teams including Houston, Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia.
What’s more the Nets have a bonafide superstar in point guard D’Angelo Russell, 22, a second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The Nets aquired Russell in an absolute steal from the Lakers two years ago.
Much credit has to go to Nets General Manger Sean Marks and Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, who have done an excellent job in not only getting Russell, but finding a mix of young and veteran players who have all bought into team basketball.
Players like Jarrett Allen, their 20-year-old center with the big afro, Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris are all making big impacts.
And Brooklynites are beginning to take notice. Walk around the borough or ride the trains and you’re beginning to see more Nets gear on every corner from Brownsville and Bed-Stuy to Kensington, Brooklyn Chinatown and Bay Ridge.
The dirty shame of it is news outlets like the Times are ignoring the team, which shows both a lack of civic pride in promoting a hometown team that deserves more support and plain old horrible sports news sense.
If the Knicks had this kind of team, the Times would have their lead feature sports story on them every other day. Instead their last two feature NBA stories were about Golden State and ex-Knick Carmelo Anthony being traded again.
But the Times and media’s lack of coverage on the Nets is their loss and my gain, as I picked up two mid-range center court seats for $65 a pop.
But if the Nets keep playing like they have been, it will just be a matter of time before they become the hottest ticket in town. And they have plenty of room in their salary cap to pick up an Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant next year as free agents.
And come playoffs, if the Nets go deep, expect sold out games, and packed bars and restaurants at every establishment witha large screen TV in Brooklyn. And imagine a NBA title in two or three years. The city would have to seal off every bridge and tunnel leading to and from the borough to contain the celebration.
Brooklyn basketball. Now that’s something Ocasio-Cortez can’t touch. The Nets are keeping it real, hipsters be dammed.
