The 2008-09 season ended with the New Jersey Nets in 3rd place, and moves made in the offseason mean hope for a more successful 2009-10 season. The biggest move was the trade to the Orlando Magic of Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie, which strengthens the defense. The offense is solid, anchored by Brook Lopez and Captain Devin Harris, and Yi Jianlian is expected to be much improved after a strong summer. As the Nets are due to move to Brooklyn as early as 2011, time to see them play in Jersey is running out. So what are you waiting for? Get your Izod Center tickets today!

One of the 11 original teams of the American Basketball Association (ABA), the New York Nets won two championships in the nine-year history of that league. During this time star forward Julius Erving led the team. The team was founded in 1967 as an ABA franchise called the New Jersey Americans. Team owner Arthur Brown originally wanted the team to play in New York City, but after failing to secure a city arena, the team spent the 1967-68 season playing in Teaneck, New Jersey. The next season Brown renamed the squad the Nets and moved it to Long Island, New York, and in 1969 he sold the Nets to businessman Roy Boe. The Nets qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 1969-70. Before the next season the team signed high-scoring forward Rick Barry, and in 1972 the Nets advanced to the ABA Finals, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers four games to two.