On June 19th, 2021, the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks were battling for the first spot in the Eastern Conference Finals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. With a win, the Bucks would return to the Conference Finals for the second time in three seasons; for the Nets, it would be their first appearance in 18 years.
With Milwaukee up by two with six seconds remaining in the fourth, Jeff Green threw the ball to Kevin Durant, who hit one of the biggest shots of his career, forcing the game into overtime.
The crowd at the Barclay’s Center went wild. Legendary broadcaster Marv Albert used his iconic “YES!” line to depict the moment. It felt like Brooklyn had another chance at advancing even though James Harden (whom the Nets traded a king’s ransom to get) was playing hobbled, and Kyrie Irving was out.
Despite the Nets’ new lease on life after Durant’s shot, Brooklyn struggled to score in overtime when it counted most and lost 115-111.
Milwaukee went on to win the championship, the highest basketball moment in franchise history in over 50 years. The Nets, not realizing it, had also hit a high moment in their franchise: The highest moment of the Kevin Durant Brooklyn Nets experience.
In his two-and-a-half healthy seasons as a Net, the Slim Reaper’s basketball life had constant twists and turns, surprising subplots, and glimpses of offensive brilliance that very few teams have ever eclipsed.
I don’t think the Nets accomplished as much as they could have during the Durant era, but it’s fair to say that signing both him and Kyrie Irving on June 30th, 2019, was the right decision. The Nets’ shortcomings were not purely a display of bad management and chemistry. They were an example of how hard it is to win a title.
“There’s only a few teams every season that get to earnestly compete for a championship, and the Brooklyn Nets were one of them,” said Nets Daily Writer Lucas Kaplan. “Having Kevin Durant in the borough is hardly a regret.”
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Leading up to Durant’s signing, Nets General Manager Sean Marks’s team building was impressive. He took over a team with limited draft assets because of the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry trade in 2013 that set the franchise back many years.
Brooklyn had become a team with a good culture filled with players that would complement superstars nicely. Players like Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie were sharp finds in free agency. Draft picks like Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert exemplified how, despite limited draft assets, the team was able to identify young talent. The team’s vibes appeared to be “immaculate,” to use some modern slang, and there are literal videos of the 2018-2019 Nets Bench Celebrations with millions of views on YouTube
