Brooklyn Nets majority team owner Joe Tsai frankly discussed the impact of their city rivals, the New York Knicks, winning the 2026 NBA Championship.
The Nets were clinging to the hope that they could bring an NBA Championship to New York before the long-struggling Knicks, in order to step out of their historic neighbors’ shadow.
Unfortunately, the 2026 season went the other way for the Nets, as they were among the worst teams in the NBA while their cross-town rivals lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy and ended a 53-year-long wait.
Nets owner Joe Tsai admits Knicks title win is embarrassing for the fanbaseNets owner Joe Tsai shared his feelings on the Knicks title win with NetsDaily in a phone interview, sharing a frank reaction to the impact this should have on the Nets fanbase.
“Every year, some team is going to win a championship. So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our fanbase, and it is embarrassing. We had a plan and we’re rebuilding, and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”
The Nets are headed for another mixed season, led by Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr., but an inadequate collection of premium young talents to rebuild around.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesThey’re hoping No. 6 pick Mikel Brown Jr. proves to be a star point guard after inconclusive rookie seasons from a packed guard core with Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, and Egor Demin, among other options.
Brooklyn doesn’t own their 2027 first-round draft pick, so they are hoping they can avoid another catastrophe and push for a postseason return with a highly doubted but potentially dangerous roster.
The Nets had the edge on the Knicks over the 21st century until 2026The Nets might have never replaced the Knicks as New York’s team amongst the casual fans, but they did give the city more competitive basketball moments since the 2000s.
The Nets went to two NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, losing to Western Conference juggernauts (Lakers, Spurs).
They had many rough years as well, primarily in the 2010s, when they traded the draft picks that became Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to the Celtics for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce after their primes were over.
The 2020s started with promise, as the Nets outrecruited the Knicks in signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but off-court issues caused that core to collapse by 2023, with the Nets since being trapped in a rebuild.
Even a championship win might pale in comparison to the Knicks now, and owner Tsai knows that the Knicks winning a title is a huge reputational blow that the franchise might not be able to overcome.
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