History of the Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets, a professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, was founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans, later the New Jersey Nets. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In 2012 they moved to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Nets.

The franchise was established in 1967 as a founding member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), with trucking magnate Arthur J. Brown as the owner. Brown had operated several AAU teams in and around New York City, and was viewed as an ideal pick to run the nascent league's New York franchise. The team was named the New York Americans, and Brown intended for it to play at the 69th Regiment Armory in Manhattan, but pressure from the New York Knicks of the older National Basketball Association (NBA) forced the Armory to back out three months before opening day. Brown found it difficult to find a suitable replacement venue in New York, as some were booked solid, and others had owners who didn't want to anger the Knicks by opening their doors to a rival team. The team was left scrambling for a venue with opening day approaching, and it finally settled on the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, New Jersey, and changed its team name to the New Jersey Americans, though its franchise name remained the New York Americans.

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