The selections for the Nets All-Time Top 25 Team were made by the author, with no input from the Brooklyn Nets organization. Selections were based on a combination of individual performance, team success and their contribution to it, and longevity with the franchise.
A 6-foot-11 center out of Duke, Mike Gminski was a frontcourt mainstay for the Nets during a run of five consecutive playoff appearances from 1982 through 1986.
Gminski was drafted seventh overall in 1980, right after the Nets drafted Mike O’Koren from rival North Carolina. Gminski had helped lead the Blue Devils to the national championship game in 1978 and been named to the AP All-American Second Team in consecutive years. As a rookie he contributed 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds.
After playing mostly off the bench in his first four seasons, Gminski moved into a starting role in 1984-85. He would begin a string of seven straight seasons averaging double-figure points when he put up 12.8 points per game and elevated his rebounds per game to 7.8.
The following season, Gmisnki averaged 16.5 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting a career high 51.7 percent from the field. In his final full season with the Nets, Gminski averaged 16.4 points and 8.8 rebounds in 1986-87.
Traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1987-88 season, Gminski at the time led all players in career games played for the franchise with 550. He still ranks third, having been surpassed by his teammate Buck Williams and then by Brook Lopez.
Gminski still ranks fourth in franchise history in blocks (599) and fifth in rebounds (3,671). In seven-plus seasons with the Nets he averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.