Why the Brooklyn Nets Need to Start Embracing Their New Jersey Roots More

It's been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.

Apr 11; Newark, NJ, USA; The New Jersey Nets mascot, Sly Fox, leads fans in a cheer during the second half at the Prudential Center. The Bobcats defeated the Nets 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland

It's been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.

The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.

The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.

Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.

“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.

“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”

As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.

The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.

Apr 25, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) and forward Kevin Durant (7) drop back on defense during the second quarter of game four of the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It's fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.

True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at "The World's Most Famous Arena."

Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team's mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.