Tag: John Williamson

Today in Nets history: Nets win first ABA title

May 10 marks a major anniversary for the Nets franchise.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the New York Nets took a 3-0 series lead in the 1974 ABA Finals, the Utah Stars forced a Game 5 on May 10 when they won Game 4 97-89.

Willie Wise tried his best to force a Game 6, leading both teams with 34 points, but Julius Erving and the Nets had other plans.

Dr. J scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, finishing with one of New York’s three double-doubles en route to a 111-100 Game 5 win and an ABA Finals title (full box score).

Larry Kenon led the Nets with 23 points. He also finished with double digits in the rebounding column (11).  Billy Paultz had the Nets’ third double-double (21 points and 12 rebounds), and he also had four steals.

Biran Taylor scored 19 points in the win and John Williamson logged 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Today in Nets history: Dr. J, John Williamson regain edge in ’76 ABA Finals

The New York Nets took the lead in the 1976 ABA Finals over the Denver Nuggets on May 6.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

After the Denver Nuggets won Game 2 of the 1976 ABA Finals to even things at 1-1, the series came to New York for Game 3. David Thompson (32 points) and Dan Issel (25 points and 13 rebounds) were good, but the Nets were better.

Four Nets finished with double-digit rebounds: Tim Bassett (12), Kim Hughes (11), Julius Erving (10) and Rich Jones (10). Erving (31 points), Jones (22) and Hughes (14) each finished in double figures in the scoring column, as well, en route to a 117-111 win and 2-1 series lead (full box score).

Most efficient of all the Nets’ scorers in the win was John Williamson. The guard finished with 28 points on 56.5% shooting (13-for-23).

Today in Nets history: Dr. J scores 45 in Game 1 of 1976 ABA Finals

Julius Erving helped the Nets start the last ABA Finals on the right foot by hitting a game-winning jumper on May 1, 1976.

With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

Two years and a day after Julius Erving opened up the 1974 ABA Finals with a 47-point performance in the New York Nets’ win over the Utah Stars, Dr. J did something similar against the Denver Nuggets.

The last ABA Finals began on May 1, 1976, with Denver playing host.

The game was a battle down to the wire. The Nets had the final possession at the end of regulation after Nuggets big man Marvin Webster tied the game at 118-118. Following a timeout, Dr. J caught the inbounds pass and drilled a baseline jumper as the clock wound down, giving the Nets a 1-0 series advantage (full box score).

Rich Jones (18 points), John Williamson (17) and Brian Taylor (12) each finished in double figures for the Nets.

Kim Hughes had 10 rebounds for New York, finishing second only to Erving (12).

RELATED: Ranking the top five small forwards in Nets history

Ranking the top five shooting guards in Nets history

The Nets franchise has featured some impressive shooting guards through the years, including a hall of famer, and other soon-to-be.

In this new era of positionless basketball, shooting guards have fallen in a strange middle ground. Of course, “guard” is in the position’s title, but some shooting guards are closer to being small forwards than combo guards.

For instance, Joe Harris is a shooting guard, but he’s certainly not bringing the ball up the floor. Yet fellow Brooklyn Nets off-guard Caris LeVert could also play ball-handler as needed or even roll up to the three.

Those two both came to Brooklyn in 2016-17 and have put together some impressive work. But have they secured a seat among the franchise’s best shooting guards of all time? Nets Wire examined the point guards to wear a Brooklyn or New Jersey uniform through the years and selected the five best:

5. Joe Johnson

Credit: Anthony Gruppuso – USA TODAY Sports
Nets Stats: 14.7 PPG | 37.8 3-PT% | 3.4 APG

Johnson could have also fallen under the category of small forward, but his game fits in better with shooting guards.

That’s because Iso Joe was about one thing above all else: buckets.

Johnson’s highest scoring average over his four-year Nets career was 16.3 points per game — his first season in Brooklyn. But it was the next year that he was named an NBA All-Star, and shot 40.1% from 3-point territory.

RELATED: A look back at Joe Johnson, the ultimate isolation scorer

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Today in Nets history: Nets player scores 50 points in NBA game for first time

Whether they were with the franchise in Brooklyn or New Jersey, only a select few Nets players have ever score 50 points in an NBA game.

ABAWith the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.

For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.

Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:

Throughout the Nets’ history as an NBA franchise (joined in 1976-77), only eight players have scored 50 or more points in a game.

Deron Williams holds the franchise record with 57. Kyrie Irving came close to passing the former Brooklyn guard when he dropped 54 on the Bulls in January — and became the only Nets player to ever log 50 points in a game on two occasions.

Caris LeVert (51), Vince Carter (51) and Stephon Marbury (50) all reached the mark for the Nets at some point, as well. But the first to do so in a Nets uniform in an NBA game was two-time ABA champion John Williamson.

After starting his professional career with the Nets in the ABA and making the transition with the team to the NBA, Williamson found himself with the Indiana Pacers in the middle of the 1976-77 season — both franchises’ first season in the NBA. Then, Williamson made the switch back to New Jersey the next season. And on April 4, 1978, the guard carved out his own little piece of Nets history when he scored 50 in the Nets’ 129-121 win over his former team, the Pacers (full box score).

Bernard King scored 26 for the Nets in the win and Eddie Jordan pitched in 21 points, eight rebounds and seven steals off the bench.

Vince Carter’s Nets jersey should hang in the rafters of Barclays Center

Vince Carter has wowed fans with his dunks and other athletic feats throughout his storied career.

Vince Carter is going to be one of few players who has a legacy in which his lacking a championship will not be overly discussed.

After this season, Carter will have put on a show for 22 NBA seasons, which will give him the record of longest career in league history.  His nickname “Half Man, Half Amazing” might just be one of the most fitting nicknames in hoops history. Whether it was dunking over Frederic Weis in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, or wowing fans in his iconic 2000 Slam Dunk Contest performance, Carter has proven to be one of the most athletic players in NBA history.

Now, as he finishes his last season, he’s been praised by players such as Houston Rockets star James Harden. Carter got a standing ovation in December during his final game at Madison Square Garden.  On Sunday, he played his final game against the Brooklyn Nets, and he received a standing ovation.

Carter played for the Nets when they were in New Jersey, and as one of the franchise’s all-time best players, his jersey should hang in the rafters.

Despite not leading the team to any titles, Carter was one of the best hoopers of his generation.

After the Atlanta Hawks lost to the Nets on Sunday, Carter spoke on what it would feel like to have his jersey retired. Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Jason Kidd, Bill Melchionni, the late John Williamson, Buck Williams and the late Drazen Petrovic each have their Nets jersey retired.

“When you look up in the rafters and see the group of people that’s up there, if one day I get that opportunity, that honor, I’m OK with going up there with a guy who I looked up to in Dr. J and a great teammate like J-Kidd,” Carter said, per Michael Scotto of Bleacher Report. 

In five seasons with the Nets, Carter averaged 23.6 points per game, the highest among any of the teams he’s played for. According to Basketball Reference, Carter ranks third on the Nets’ all-time leading scorers list.

Carter, Kidd and Richard Jefferson were one of the most fun trios to watch in the mid 2000s. The group started playing together in the 2004-05 season, when Carter was traded to the team from the Toronto Raptors during the season.

With Kidd, the Nets had one of the best and smartest players ever as a floor general. As a fellow wing, Jefferson complemented Carter’s ability to score with his slashing ability. The group only made it as far as the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the three played exciting basketball.

Carter’s influence on the generation that followed is special. Nets star Kyrie Irving is evidence of that, as he spoke highly of Carter after Sunday’s game.

“That was a kid’s dream to go see Vince Carter and Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets play, but specifically Vince Carter,” Irving said, per Anthony Puccio of Nets Daily.  “He used to do some amazing things, man. It was incredible as a kid to watch.”

As one of the top scorers the league has seen, Carter is ranked No. 20 all-time in points, and currently he’s ranked fourth all-time in games played. A quality 3-point shooter throughout his career, he has shot 37.2% from deep.

In this day and age, hoops fans sometimes ring count. That is, sometimes a player’s legacy is tied too much to whether they won titles.

But Carter is different, and a big part of that is because his legacy consists of him being arguably the best dunker ever, along with his consistency. He averaged double figures in scoring from his rookie season in 1998 through the 2013-14 season.

Carter having his jersey potentially hanging in the rafters at Barclays Center would serve as a reminder of his greatness.

But unlike many other all-time greats, Carter won’t need any rings to prove how amazing he was.

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