Nets Owner Joe Tsai Frustrated with Knicks Title, Reveals Future Plans

At one point, the Brooklyn Nets were seen as the hip team in town.

May 9, 2019; New York City, NY, USA; Taiwanese businessman Joe Tsai (center) looks on during the second half of the preseason WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the China National Team at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Knicks stole all of the local and national headlines after winning the 2026 NBA Finals, ending a 53-year championship drought.

At one point, the Brooklyn Nets were seen as the hip team in town, as superstars came flocking over the bridge. Meanwhile, the Knicks were the butt of a joke in a Pixar movie.

However, the tables have turned right back towards the Manhattan team, leaving Nets owner Joe Tsai embarrassed for his franchise.

”Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai told NetsDaily in an exclusive interview. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform….[We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”

Tsai has been the owner of a championship-caliber NBA team, though that team crumbled largely due to injuries and other off the court shenanigans.

While he has seen firsthand how bringing in superstars can help change the trajectory of a franchise, he doesn't see his crosstown rivals winning a championship as a reason to expedite their process, echoing many of the same sentiments as Nets GM Sean Marks.

"No, not at all. I mean, we're not, we're not, we're not going to be motivated or less motivated by what somebody else is doing," Marks said. "I think all we control is our path. I think we set out on this a couple of years ago, and I think I'm very happy with what the group has done, what Jordi, the coaching staff, have done to develop these young men, and it's gonna be really exciting to see what they look like, and you know, whether it's a year or two years from here, and who really seizes this opportunity?"

With the Atlantic Division rapidly becoming more competitive, the Nets will eventually need to do something to give their fans a reason to feel optimistic that the team will be able to hang in with them in the standings and on the court.

It's valid to feel embarrased, but at some point, action needs to be taken to quell that feeling.