It's Been a Tale of Two Seasons for the Brooklyn Nets

The weight of expectations is especially apparent in professional sports. More than half the teams in the NBA come into a season with championship aspirations, but only one can reach that goal.

In the Brooklyn Nets case, however, there were certain expectations for their roster, but nothing regarding wins. Jordi Fernandez entered his second season at the helm for Brooklyn, and they fielded the youngest squad in the league with a record five first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.

For much of the first two months of the season, the Nets were playing as expected, going 3-13 through October and November. They consistently posted low-scoring totals, along with porous defensive outings.

Something changed in December, causing Brooklyn to go 6-6 in its last 12 games. It has had the best team defensive rating in this stretch, and the rookies' production is only increasing.

Starting at the top, Egor Demin has increased his 9.4 points per game scoring average to 12 points per game in the last 12 games. He's achieved this while maintaining his rebound and assist numbers steady, but it's his on-ball defense that has undergone the most significant improvements.

Demin was almost solely operating on the perimeter from a scoring standpoint to begin the season, but he's starting to get downhill more and use his 6-foot-8 frame.

The other rookie who has taken the most notable leap recently and contributed to winning is Danny Wolf. The 21-year-old has only played 14 games this season, but has seen meaningful minutes in the Nets' last 11 games.

Through this stretch, Wolf has averaged 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 37.8% from three-point range. His unique play style has caught defenses by surprise, and he has helped to improve poor team rebound numbers.

Having more options on the offense has made Brooklyn more unpredictable and has taken some of the pressure off Michael Porter Jr. to do all of the scoring.

Along with Porter Jr., Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney have also seen breakouts this season. The former Denver Nugget is thriving as the focal point of the offense, and despite being a consistent scorer throughout this campaign, he has boosted his scoring average by nearly three points this month. His three-point percentage has also shot up from 40% to 46%.

Claxton has been put in roles in which he isn't accustomed this season, but it's working. He functions as a ball-handling center at times, and his ability to score or find the open man in the paint has kept defenses on their toes.

Having a breakout hopeful candidate actually break out can do wonders for a team. That player for the Nets has been Noah Clowney. He's shown the ability to knock down shots from outside at an even higher clip than any season before, but his downhill attacking has been the biggest revelation in his game.

When a team has as many players exceeding expectations as Brooklyn does, success is inevitable. Still, Fernandez and the coaching staff deserve much of the credit for the defensive turnaround. The young players have clearly bought into Fernandez's coaching style.

Even if this recent stretch of improvement doesn't hold up –– which may be for the best –– as long as the Nets' youth are getting developed, the future will be bright.