As the NBA's Only Winless Team, the Nets Are Winning the Draft Wars

Over two weeks into the season, Brooklyn is the only team to have not won a game.

Nov 3, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) reacts after scoring a basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The most comical part about NBA optimists is when nothing goes their way, and the team they are so high on flops in their faces. It sounds sadistic, but realists relish it when they're right about a team not living up to expectations. It helps mitigate the delusion as a fan.

The Brooklyn Nets had absolutely zero optimism heading into the season. You'd have to visit all corners of the Earth to find just one person who thought this team would be competitive. It's because the Nets themselves knew what direction they needed to be heading in. While most of the NBA is going up, Brooklyn is sinking (for the right reasons).

So when the Nets got off to a putrid 0-7 start, no one really batted an eye. This was all expected, and fans braced well for impact.

Brooklyn has a chance to get its first win of the season tonight against the Indiana Pacers, who aren't much better at 1-6; however, as of the morning of Nov. 5, the Nets are the league's only winless team. This comes after the New Orleans Pelicans picked up their first win against the Charlotte Hornets last night.

The 'Tank Wars,' as many have described it over the years, is a way for fans of losing teams to have some fun with the season. This is especially fun for the Nets because their not only winning the war, they're dominating it based on the metrics.

Brooklyn has the worst defense in the NBA by a country mile, ranking dead last in the rating at 128.5. The team also has the worst margin of victory at -15.7. By the fourth quarter, the games are already dead in the water, and fans check the standings while visiting Tankathon for another lottery simulation.

This season is all about developing the young talent and setting yourself up for a top pick in 2026. After watching some of the nation's top NBA prospects make their debuts to start the college basketball season, the Nets have all the more reason to drop games.

Egor Demin, Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Danny Wolf are all promising rookies, but they lack the scoring prowess that makes these prospects so highly touted. None of them gives off 'franchise superstar' energy.

Cam Thomas is Brooklyn's best player at the moment, and the team has some solid veterans such as Michael Porter Jr., Nic Claxton and Terance Mann. However, none of them have a certain future, even Thomas, who will hit unrestricted free agency after a summer of failed contract negotiations.

All of this is to say, embrace the suck, as Navy Seals would tell you. The Nets need this 2026 pick to be a good one, and as long as they finish within the bottom three teams of the league, they'll have done all they could to land a franchise star.