Coaching and Culture has led to a Defensive Turnaround for the Brooklyn Nets

On a basketball court, there's really only three things that a player has total control over: their attitude, effort and focus. These three truths ring especially true on the defensive end.

The Brooklyn Nets, however, were not dialed into these attributes to begin the 2025-26 season, leading to one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Through the first 10 games of head coach Jordi Fernandez's second year at the helm, the Nets ranked in the bottom five for both steals and blocks while having a league-worst 126.6 defensive rating.

Those poor numbers carried Brooklyn to a 1-9 record, but it wasn't much of a worry because its roster is the youngest in the league and losing increases the odds of a top pick in the next draft cycle. The defense could've easily stayed at that level, and it wouldn't have been a major concern.

Fernandez had other plans for his developing core. Since the 10th game of the season, the Nets have gone 10-13 and have had the 12th-best defensive rating in the NBA.

A lot of the credit for it should go to the coaching staff, but it's also the players buying into the game plan and putting more effort into execution. The personnel have remained relatively unchanged throughout the season, so it's clear that something clicked between the players and coaches.

The defense isn't forcing more turnovers than it was at the start of the season, only seeing a 0.1% increase in opponent turnover percentage in the last 23 games compared to the first 10 games. Still, the Nets guards on the perimeter have stepped up when it comes to staying in front of their assignments.

Looking at rookie guard Egor Demin is the prime place to look at where individual development led to team improvement. Demin often got targeted by opposing offenses to start the season, posting a 124.0 defensive rating through his first nine games. Since then, he has started to use his 6-foot-10 wingspan more effectively, improving his defensive rating to 114.0.

Interior defense has improved alongside the perimeter work. Brooklyn started the season allowing the most points in the paint through the first 10 games, but has since improved to allowing the 16th most points in the paint.

The key to the Nets guards and forwards combining to improve the defense has been rotation. Offenses are going to throw trickery into their sets with screens and off-ball movement, but recently, the communication and activeness on that end of the floor have been enough to stifle opponents.

The defensive side is always going to be easier to understand and easier to change because of the intangibles that go into it. In Brooklyn's case, its coaching adjustments and a young team that is eager to give effort and learn.