NETS to Honor Former Players, Coaches During Final Game in NJ

Special Halftime Ceremony to Include On-Court Presentations and Video Tributes

April 17, 2012

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—NETS Basketball will honor several of its former players and coaches at a special halftime ceremony during the team’s final home game to be played in New Jersey on Monday, April 23 at Prudential Center. During the game, the NETS, which host the Philadelphia 76ers, will be presenting several tribute videos from players and coaches unable to attend.

Several of the players scheduled to participate in person at the ceremony include Kenny Anderson, Otis Birdsong, Darwin Cook, Derrick Coleman, Kendall Gill, Albert King, Kerry Kittles, Chris Morris, and Mike O’Koren. Tickets for the game are available at nba.com/NETS or at 800-4NBA-TIX.

“In our final home game in New Jersey, we want to demonstrate our deep appreciation to the players and coaches who have been part of this organization during its 35 years in the state,” said NETS CEO Brett Yormark. “We also want to especially thank our great fans for their support and loyalty. We have enjoyed many exciting moments while in the Garden State, especially the team’s back-to-back Eastern Conference Championships in 2002 and ’03. We look forward to celebrating our history together during the last game as we move on to the team’s next chapter.”

"The New Jersey NETS have been part of the fabric of sports in this state for more than three decades," said NETS General Manager Billy King. "Players such as Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovic, Derrick Coleman, Micheal Ray Richardson, and Jason Kidd all called Jersey home at one point during their careers. The final game on the 23rd will present a fitting tribute to this rich history of NBA basketball in the Garden State."

The NETS moved to New Jersey in 1977, their second season in the NBA, and officially became known as the New Jersey NETS. The NETS played their first four seasons in New Jersey at the Rutgers Athletic Center, in Piscataway, before moving in 1981 to Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford (later renamed Continental Airlines Arena and IZOD Center), where they remained for 29 seasons until moving to the Prudential Center in Newark in 2010. In 35 years of NETS Basketball in New Jersey, the NETS have compiled an NBA record of 1186-1631 (.421). They have reached the postseason 16 times, won four Atlantic Division titles and two Eastern Conference Championships, reaching the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons.

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