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:
The New Jersey Nets weren’t particularly good during Bill Fitch’s run as head coach. Between his first two seasons, the Nets won a combined 43 games.
Things went a little better in his third and final season, as the Nets made it back to the NBA Playoffs as the No. 6 seed. But New Jersey still went 40-42. They would ultimately lose in the first round to the third-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 3-1.
While making their final postseason push, the Nets needed every win they could get, so their 105-100 win over the Miami Heat on April 14, 1992 was important (full box score).
But something more significant happened that day.
This was the 1,720th Fitch ever coached in the NBA — which meant he had become the new record-holder for most games coached in the league.
Upon his retirement, Fitch had coached 2050 NBA games. That mark would eventually be surpassed by Don Nelson (2,398) and Lenny Wilkens (2,487), the latter of which now holds the record.