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.
When the Nets made their surprise run to the NBA Finals during the 2001-02 season, they got a major boost from a new arrival, but also from the return of a familiar face.
Kerry Kittles had missed the entire 2000-01 season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. The fourth surgery on his right knee had left his career in question at the age of 27.
But playing alongside the newly acquired Jason Kidd in the backcourt, Kittles excelled in starting all 82 games, averaging 13.4 points and shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range. With the Nets down two games to one against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, Kittles put together back-to-back 22- and 21-point games to help the Nets regain control of the series on the way to the NBA Finals.
The following season, Kittles averaged 13.0 points as the Nets repeated as Atlantic Division champions and returned to the NBA Finals, then 13.1 points while again starting all 82 games in 2003-04, his final season with the franchise.
Drafted eighth overall in 1996, Kittles made an immediate impact. After averaging 16.4 points and a career-high 1.9 steals, the Villanova product was named to NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He also set a Nets single-season record with 158 3-pointers that would last for 16 years.
The following season, Kittles helped the Nets to return to the playoff for the first time since 1994 with career highs of 17.2 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and a 41.8 3-point percentage. It was the first of three times in four seasons that Kittles would shoot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Over seven seasons with the Nets, Kittles averaged 14.3 points. 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists and shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range. He is among the team’s all-time top 10 for games and minutes played.
Kittles is second in team history with 687 3-pointers made, third in steals with 803 and eighth in points with 7,096.